Secrets Unveiled, Volume 1
by Teh Elven Ninja Twins
Summary: Two people of different races. Secrets known and unknown abound on all sides. What is to unfold? [AU AR] (Set after "Deathly Hallows". As stated on the profile of member The Last Elven Princess, permission is given for her story to be re-uploaded on here and to continue it. We aim to uphold to the standards set by her. Please enjoy the story, as well as its continuation.)
1. Letters & A New Friend

The story began with a shadowy, mysterious woman walking down a dark, empty street. Every now and then she would stop to look over her shoulder. The night was unusually dark and snow littered the ground. Her breath came out as puffs of smoke from the cold night air. She stopped before a dimly lit building. As she walked down the sidewalk, her head turned towards a sign which was barely visible. The only word that could be seen was "orphanage". She pulls a black basket from beneath her black coat, placing it gently on the mat that says, "Welcome".

Her face is hidden by the hood of her robes. "Goodbye..." she whispered. Then, she leans and kisses the infant's forehead. The hood of her robes revealed enough to indicate the woman had slightly pale skin and dark lips. A tear falls onto the young child's face and it slowly slides down their cheek. She sits there for a moment before standing. She reaches out her hand, covered in a black glove, and presses the doorbell. Her body instantly disappears into a puff of black smoke. The young child sits in the basket in the cold night air. The sound of footsteps comes closer and closer.

The door bursts open and an a woman in her forties bursts forth. "Who in their right mind would be kno-" She stops mid-sentence after noticing the basket on the doorstep. "Oh my word", she says as she stares at the infant.

"What's the ruckus?", asks a man in his mid fifties.

Another younger woman walks out from a doorway.

"It's a baby." replies the older woman.

"Who would leave a baby?" asks the younger woman. The younger woman bends down and carries the basket inside, placing it upon a couch in the living room. She notices a small letter tucked away safely. She reads the note. "Well, I know one thing... His name is Dante." She shows the letter to the others and only one word is written upon it: "Dante".

They all look at the small, pale skinned boy, the blanket exposing only his sleeping face.

{Present Day}

Out of surprise, a young woman with radiant blond hair, bright green eyes, and skin both fair and pale, shouts, "Awesome!" and smiles as she runs toward her parents. "Mother! Father! Look what I just got!" she says as she shows them the letter still sealed in the envelope. She looks at the front of her letter. As she looks at the address, she says, "It got my location I was at when I got it! How weird!"

Her parents look at her and the letter with curious expressions.

"What? Did I do something wrong? Is the letter bad?" the woman asks with wide eyes.

They tell her to read it.

As she opens it and reads it, a letter comes in without her knowing and it's for her parents.

After she finishes reading it, the young woman exclaims, "Yay! I get to go to the magical world of 'HOGWARTS'!" She notices the paper they're holding. "Umm, what's that?"

"We're proud of you, Juni." her parents state with a smile.

Juni hugs her parents as she smiles in return.

"And, this letter is just telling us about your admission." they answer.

"Oh...Well, okay." she replied while being completely unaware of what the rest of their letter had mentioned.

{Meanwhile; in another land}

"It's been years and all of the wizards have letters, and not one time since I've been here have I received one. I guess I'm not a wizard after all..." says a young man with pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes.

"Hmm, I wouldn't say that." a voice answered behind him.

He turns around and sees a tiny person with wings. She had long platinum blonde hair, ivory skin, and hazel eyes. Her wings were a great contrast of a bright sapphire blue color and a pitch black color. Astonished at what he was seeing, he says, "Wha... Who are you?"

She smiles. "I'm Shaiya, the secret house fairy!" She disappears and reappears behind him. "As I was saying, the fact you can see me casts doubt on what you said." she added as he turned his head to look at her.

"So, only a wizard or someone with magical powers can see you?" he asked, still in disbelief.

"Exactly." she answered with a nod. She flew to where she was in front of him.

He looked at her. "Wow." he whispered unknowingly.

"Anyway, I know something you don't, Dante, so if you want I can give you some advice for the future."

"What's that? And, how do you know my name?"

She grins. "How I know your name is a secret but I'll let you in on another secret. Do you know the lake that you see down there? Keep an eye on the sky in the direction of its center but you have to do so for a few days. Now, I'm not saying to stare endlessly toward it, but keep an eye on it for a few days. You'll like what you see. That I can promise you." she responds then nods sharply.

"Hmm... Why? What's going to happen there?"

"You'll see." she replies then winks.

 _Hmm..._ Dante thinks as he looks out in that direction for a moment.

"But," she adds, drawing back Dante's attention. "I need you to do a couple things for me in return. Don't worry. It's not too much, okay?"

"Like what?"

"Well, first thing, Don't go telling anyone about me or what I told you, and second.. Will you let me sit on your shoulder a moment? After flying, my wings are just killing me from today's flight."

He looks at her for a moment, sizing her up and deducing she's not capable of hurting him. "Okay, go ahead. I won't tell anyone." he answers with a small smile.

"Thanks so much." she chimed then flew close to him, landing on his shoulder and sitting down.

"You're welcome, but what is a secret house pixie?"

"Umm, I'm a house fairy, not a pixie. Please don't get that confused, but anyway, a house fairy is meant to serve their master that our parents chose, but you'll learn more on that later." she stated then placed a hand behind her head and rubbed it for a small second.

"I see... So why are you here?"

She adjusted herself into a more comfortable position on his shoulder. "I came to talk with you because it was in my master's best interest... Don't worry, it's no one bad, but I can't tell you right now, though... Sorry." she replied.

"It's okay. Well, I better be off to bed. It's getting late and I have to clean again tomorrow. A number of others were here but they left... They got letters."

"Oh, I see... I bet because they got letters they thought they were better, right? Well, I say phooey because it's not what you have but it's how you get it."

"They made a horrible mess, too, and left it for me to clean..." Dante groaned before giving a sigh.

"Well, it's... I've been here since I was a baby. A lot of them haven't even been here but a few weeks before getting letters. Hogwarts gives them to wizards as young as eleven."

Shaiya wanted to cheer him up. "Well, you never know, sometimes fate has a funny way of surprising you and I gotta feeling you're gonna laugh when it surprises you." she chimed.

"Yeah, but I have almost given up on being chosen. At least I have whatever you mentioned to look forward to seeing... After all, anything is better than what goes on here."

"Well , one never knows what the future can bring them."

"Yeah, I hope good things." he adds.

Shaiya couldn't help but grin, thinking, _Oh, but it will, Dante._ She then says, "I don't know why it wouldn't."

"Well, I'm tired, Shaiya. I'm going to head off to bed. I have to clean tomorrow."

"Well.. okay. Thanks for letting me sit on your shoulder for a bit, by the way. My wings feel so much better." she answered happily as she jumped off Dante's shoulder and flies to the door. She paused to look back at him. "Oh, by the way, look under your pillow, tomorrow. There'll be something to help you get through the day. Goodnight!" she requested with a smile then disappears.

 _What a strange and beautiful creature. I wonder who her master is... I suppose I'll find out, soon enough._ Dante thinks then heads off to bed.

(To be continued.)


	2. Vault 333

{Few days later}

Dante yawns and stretches as he hears the scuffle of children getting dressed and ready for breakfast.

"Come on down you lot, it's time for breakfast. I have a number of parents coming and we want to be ready." the older woman called.

"Hey, there's a big man downstairs. Come on! Maybe he will adopt one of us!" a little boy stated excitedly to Dante after running back upstairs.

"As if he came for me." Dante replies.

"Well, ya never know." the boy replies before scampering back downstairs.

Dante remembers the fairy from a few nights ago, and looks at his pillow. He lifts it up, once again, to reveal another potion bottle with a letter which read: "Pour me on your cleaning supplies."

 _That's still weird... Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt using it, again._ he thought as he pours the contents of the bottle onto the cleaning supplies and they suddenly animate, moving around the room, cleaning every nook and corner with ease. _Well, that made last night's mess easier to clean... Thanks, Shaiya._ he thought as he walked downstairs and then to the corridor.

The sounds of kids eating comes from the kitchen.

 _I need a bit of fresh air before I eat._ Dante thought before walking outside to the large balcony in the back. "I wish that, just once, things would go my way and I could get out of here and be special." he whispered out loud. Just then, he gazes up toward where Shaiya had previously told him, for yet another time, and immediately notices something. _What is that?_

It gets closer and closer.

Dante squints his eyes as an attempt to see it better because the sun was beginning to get brighter. An owl flies towards the castle of an orphanage. It gets nearer and nearer and.. passes him, flying behind him.

As he turns around, a booming voice remarked, "You might be more special than you think, Dante."

Dante was in disbelief over the dark haired giant of a man at whom he was looking. "You're huge!" he shouted abruptly.

"Well, that's a quick observation." the man stated.

"I.. I'm sorry. It's just... Well... You surprised me." Dante replied with a nervous laugh.

"Hahaha! No worries, Dante."

"I guess the letter was for you." Dante stated with a sigh, starting to feel disappointed.

"Aw, now don't be so certain of that, Dante." the man answers as he hands the letter to Dante.

Dante looked at the sealed envelope. It read: On the edge of the balcony, overlooking the scenery below. He was shocked. "Whaaaaaaat? ..It says my name... Is.. is it really mine?" he asked incredulously.

"I came here to make sure you received it." the man replied. After a moment of silence, the man clears his throat, then asks, "Well, Dante, you ready to go shopping?"

Dante was confused. "Shopping? For what?"

"Why, your school supplies, of course!"

Dante fixed his attention to the man. A questioning expression crossed his face as he stared at the man. "But.. I don't have any money..." he admitted, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"Well, no need to worry about that, Dante. Whoever your benefactor is they have left you an account at Gringotts."

"I was never able to go shopping for myself before."

"Well Dante, things are about to change." he stated as a certain fairy watched from the rooftop above.

As they walk back inside, Dante asked, "Who is my benefactor?"

"No clue, Dante. Whoever it is, they don't want to be found. It happens sumtimes, so no need to worry. Sometimes, the rich wizards give to those in need. At least you know you have sumone looking out for you."

"But, why are you here? Don't students normally receive messages for themselves?"

"Well.. you don't have a caregiver, Dante, so the headmistress asked me to make sure you got it and to help you shop a bit."

Dante was still feeling confused, but said nothing. "Okay, thanks. What's your name?"

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, groundskeeper at Hogwarts, and I also teach Care of Magical Creatures." he replied then noticed Dante's clothing. "What are these clothes? Oh, well. These will have to do until you get your wizard clothes, Dante. Plus, you can wear these anytime you go out... Well.. if you wanted to do so... Also, of course, you'll need more." he said as he looked ahead of him.

{Later}

Dante looks back at Hagrid's motorcycle noticing how cool it was before walking up to the sidewalk. As they step further towards it, Dante looks up and sees a sign reading: "The Leaky Cauldron".

"This place, Dante, is the front to the wizarding shops in Diagon Alley." Hagrid stated.

As they walked inside, the smell of mead and food wafted up to Dante's nose. The room is full of people.

"So you are finally entering the wizarding world. What do you think, Dante?"

"Well, it smells umm.. interesting, so far." Dante replied.

Hagrid waves his hand and calls for someone named "Kron" before a man with pale skin and black, shoulder-length hair approached. The man's face hardened.

 _I am sure he has seen a number of fights. After all, there's even a large scar which goes from above his right eye down to the lower part of his cheek._ Dante thought before noticing that the man's eyes were completely different from each other. He saw that Kron's left eye was gray with a black pupil, yet the other was gold with a red pupil, which confused Dante. _I wonder how that happened... They're the same size, yet his eyes look different in so many ways... In fact, his right eye doesn't even look human..._

"Greetings, Hagrid. What have we here?" Kron spoke. He stares into Dante as if looking for the secrets of the universe. "Strange..." he adds.

"What's that, Professor Dragoneye?" Hagrid asked.

Kron pulls Dante closer as if he has the answer to a very important question.

"Can I help you?" Dante asks nervously.

A man walks up and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Kron, you're scaring the boy."

Dante looks at the man out of confusion. He noticed that this one had short brown hair, brown eyes, and almond skin.

"Yes... My apologies." Kron states and walks away after a quick glance, his dark clothes qietly rustling with every step he took.

The man looked at Dante after fixing his dark brown glasses. "You will have to excuse my friend. He can be a bit on edge, sometimes. He hasn't fed yet, you see. He's a vampire."

"Wow a vampire? That's amazing!" Dante turns and looks at Kron. _I have to remember not to get on his bad side... His eyes were crazy looking... So cool._ Dante thinks as he tried not to get nervous. "Who is he?"

"Kron Dragoneye. He's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and head of Slytherin house."

"Oh, okay. He seems.. intense."

"He has his times, but he isn't always that way, I assure you." Hagrid added with a laugh at the end.

"My name is Jin Suzuki. I am the Potions teacher but my class will be held in Japan. We use a portkey to reach my classroom." the man said with a smile.

"Today'll be the first day of the rest of your life. From today on, you are now a wizard. Congratulations, Dante." Hagrid said.

"It.. it sounds so weird to hear that... I've waited for this day, but it really surprised me that it actually came..."

"You'll make a fine wizard, Dante." says Hagrid.

"Thanks, Hagrid." Dante says.

"You're welcome, Dante. Now, let's get a move on or we will miss the express to Hogwarts."

After Professor Suzuki walked away with a wave, Hagrid and Dante walk to the rear of The Leaky Cauldron.

"So.. this is where it leaks..."

"Haha! Dante, this is the entrance to Diagon Alley." Hagrid replied.

Hagrid taps a few blocks on the wall and it opens up before them. A number of shops and stalls run up the alley. "So, where we're going is up ahead, Dante... Gringotts."

They enter while a little fairy secretly follows them inside.

As they walk down the path, a large building grows as they travel closer toward it.

"Alright, Dante, come on. We don't have all day." Hagrid says as he opens the door. As they walk in, the goblins looking down from their workspaces stop to look up for a moment, then look back down.

As they approached the head desk, Hagrid says to the goblin in charge, "We need access to vault three hundred thirty-three."

The goblin looks up at Hagrid then looks over the table at Dante for a moment then replies, "Very well." before he gets down from his desk.

They walk down a corridor and come to a type of metal pulley seemingly run by a mix of electricity and magic.

"The wizarding world has made many improvements, Dante, over the past seventeen years. Finally making magic and travel much safer and comfortable." Hagrid says.

They get in the cart and it speeds off quickly. They see a large cavern around them as they zip by many vaults. There were so many twists and turns that it was surprising when they suddenly stopped. The speed with which they stopped made Dante think he would fly out of his seat, but nothing of the sort happened.

The goblin gets out and asks Hagrid for the lantern. He flips a knob on the lantern and a brilliant light fills the area, revealing a strange looking vault.

"Wow, I've never seen one like this..." said Hagrid.

"Key." says the goblin.

Hagrid hands the goblin the key and he attempts to open it but, surprisingly, nothing happens.

The goblin stares blankly at it for a moment, then looks at them, then back at the key. "This key is unmistakably the the one to this vault." he states while in thought.

"Hmm..." says Hagrid.

The goblin looks at the vault studying it intensely. "This is strange, this writing... This door opens for no wizard..." he says.

Dante walks up to it and touches it, saying, "This door opens for one wizard."

"Maybe Dante should open it." Hagrid suggests.

"Hmm... Let us see if that is the case." the goblin says as he hands Dante the key then stands back.

Dante looked at the key with "333" engraved on it. He aligns it with the keyhole and breathes deep. As he lets out his breath, he turns the key. Lights shine all across the door, spreading outwards as the door parts and slowly begins to open. As Dante pushes the door open, nothing but blackness greets him.

"Well I think you were meant to open this door, Dante. Never seen anything like this, though." Hagrid says.

The goblin walks ahead of Dante and Hagrid with his lantern held up high.

As they walk, Dante notices the fine designs on the floor. "I can't see any walls or the ceiling."

Hagrid nods. "Yep, it must be pretty high."

Dante sees a strange looking stone and steps on it, and, with a blinding flash the room is suddenly lit. There were mounds of gold. Treasures, books, and magical items filled the room, as well.

"Well, I've never seen the like... Who would've left all this to you, Dante? Strange, indeed..." Hagrid says as he wonders about it.

Dante looks and sees mountains of galleons.

"Well, you're rich, Dante. Well, if I need to borrow some money, I know who to ask." he said with a laugh.

Dante laughed in response. As they walked further into the vault, they find a number of items that may be of use in the future. But, what stands out is a set of clothes, a cauldron, and magical utensils needed for Dante's education.

"Well, I guess whoever your benefactor is, they were extremely prepared for this day. You won't even need to get a lot of things. Wow, are these special editions?" he says after looking at the books. "Ahem, well, all you need now is a pet, some ingredients, and a wand."

Dante finds a nearby bag.

"Careful what you pick up, Dante. There's no telling what most of these do. Don't want you losing a hand or worse."

"I don't think any of this will hurt me, Hagrid."

"Still best to be careful, Dante."

Dante takes the backpack and puts it around himself. _It's a nice fit._ he thought as he then took it off and puts a few items inside it. He then looked and didn't see them. Dante was confused. _Huh? Where did it-_ he thought as he opened it wide, then saw what he was thinking of rise to the top. "Wow, this is gonna be useful!" he said with a small laugh as he puts the books into his bag. "Great they have everything I needed, but there's even more..." He looked at the cover. "How to Enchant Everyday Objects" the book cover said.

Hagrid takes one look and says, "That's not an entirely legal book, Dante. I haven't heard of any book like that in a long time..."

"Oh, okay, Hagrid."

Dante puts it in his bag anyway, along with anything of use he could find. For a moment, he put the bag down. He thinks, _Wouldn't it be useful if everything in here was inside my bag?_ and with a loud whoosh, it all gets sucked inside and it closes.

"Well, I guess you could do that, too. Hahaha." says Hagrid. "It's quite a useful bag you got there, Dante. It's a strange kind of magic to be able to carry everything here... Strange, indeed... Well, I guess you're ready. Then Dante, let's head out."

They walk to the vault's entrance. The massive room is now empty.

Looking back, Dante wondered who left this for him. _Well, no matter. I will find out, one day._ he thought.

As they open the door, the goblin stands waiting. Dante takes the key from the door and it closes behind them, sealing itself. Hagrid helps the goblin back into the cart and hands him the lantern. After they are safely in the cart, it races on its way.

At the front of Gringotts, Hagrid says, "Okay, Dante, now it's time to get to shopping."

(To be continued.)


	3. Owl Shopping & Introductions

As they stand on the steps of Gringotts, Hagrid asks, "Well, what else do you need, Dante?"

Dante looks at his list. "Well, from this list, the only things I might need would be an owl and.. a wand." he replied.

"Okay, Dante. I have a few things to get. Can you manage without me?"

"I think I can."

Hagrid says, "Yeah, I'm sure you will do fine. Let your pet find you and Ollivander knows his wands, so you can trust him. See you soon, Dante." Hagrid says as he walks off down a side alley.

 _Hmm, a pet..._ Dante thinks as he looks around. He sees a few shops in the distance and walks off in that direction.

{Meanwhile}

As Juni and her mother look at the clothes inside a store, Juni takes a black camisole with a brown jacket off the rack. She appears very excited. "Look mother! What about these? ..And maybe if we paired them with these pants?" she says as she points at a pair of green pants then a pair of black boots. "And maybe these boots?"

"I think that'd be nice, Juni." her mother says as she thinks to herself, _My dear daughter... You're surely growing up fast... I only hope they can keep you safe..._ "Juni, are there any other jackets in a different color?"

"Umm.." Juni looks at the rack. "Yep! A blue one, a gray one, and a black one." she said with a smile.

"There's different pants and boots, too."

It had taken a short while, but, after consideration over what clothes she should get, with the addition of two dresses, Juni and her mother finish up with their clothes shopping and decide to go to Eeylops Owl Emporium to get Juni's pet owl. It had already been established that she'd get an owl because of where on the way to Diagon Alley, Juni kept trying to tell her parents about how she hoped to get an owl that she could love and take care of. She also hoped to name it Soren.

{Meanwhile}

Shaiya continues to watch over Dante from the rooftops, trying to be quiet. A shop suddenly plays an appropriate song by coincidence, which makes her smile with amusement.

{Later; inside Eeylops Owl Emporium}

Juni walks into the shop and sees a couple of employees having a hard time with a truly pretty owl. It was white as fresh snow and had golden tips on the feathers on its wings. Juni couldn't help but to think about how beautiful it appeared to be.

At this time, Dante walks inside the shop and hears a screeching sound. He looks ahead to see an owl which was fighting its captors as a lone girl walks up to the scene ahead. Dante, upon a closer look, noticed the girl wasn't human. _I wonder what she is..._ he thought then soon found himself unable to look away. He didn't know if it was because of the scene ahead of him, or if it had something to do with her. _I'll admit one thing: She may not be human, but she looks.. nice..._

The owl breaks free from its captors as it spreads its wings and eventually lands on the girl's shoulders.

She walks over to a woman Dante could easily tell was her mother. "Mother, I think I found my owl.. and I think he likes me!" she said with an excited tone to her cheery voice.

"That's nice, Juni. Now you just need to get its supplies." her mother replied.

Juni walks up to the counter. "Mr. Shopkeeper, how much for this beautiful owl and its supplies?"

The shopkeeper looks at her then the owl, and after a few calculations replies, "Seventy galleons, miss."

Juni's mother gives him the seventy galleons and says, "Here you are. Seventy galleons."

The shopkeeper hands Juni the supplies, including a cage for the owl. "Have a nice day, ladies. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"Thanks and you, too, Mr. Shopkeeper." she says then looks at the owl. "I'll call you Soren." Juni said happily to the owl.

After the excitement dies down, Dante quickly goes back to walking around the shop. An employee soon approaches him.

"So, how can I help you?" asks one of the employees. "Looking for an owl?"

"Yes." Dante replied.

"Well, we have quite a selection. Barn, Screech, Tawny, and a few other breeds of owls." the employee said as he pointed at each owl, including one as white as freshly fallen snow.

"They look nice, but how will I know which is the right one for me?"

"Well, I'm sure it will find you."

"What's that one?" Dante asked, pointing toward a dark corner of the shop at a cage holding a black owl.

"Oh, him? He's been here for a little while. People have tried to take him, but he just refuses to go with anyone."

"I see..." Dante said as he walked over to the owl's cage and puts his hand on it. Suddenly, the owl turns and looks at him, as if staring into his soul. The owl hops down off his perch and walks over to the cage door.

"Strange..." says the owner, "I've never seen him act this way." As the owner opens the cage, the owl flies up to Dante's shoulder. "Well, I think he finally found his master."

Dante feels a connection to him that seems strange, as if the owl had been waiting for him and him alone.

"Well, he's not a cheap one, though a breed I've never seen before. I feel he's bonded with you, so I will go cheaper on the price."

Dante looks at the shopkeeper. "How much, then?" he asks.

"Hmm..." He ponders for a time, then answers, "Well, I have a special set of supplies you'll need to take care of him with, so it'll come to about one hundred eighty galleons."

Dante turns up his bag and pours out galleons along with other rare coins and gems. "So.. is this enough?" he asked as the shopkeeper is shocked by how much came out from the bag.

Juni was also shocked as she thought, _Holy cows and guacamoles and chiles and Taihitis! How the crap can he carry so much in such a small bag?_

"Dante, I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" Hagrid says as he walks in and starts shifting through the pile and putting up what Dante didn't need. "Some blokes will rob you blind."

The shop owner looked at Hagrid and said, "I run a respectable business. You know that, Hagrid."

"I know that. I'm just saying.. what if he went into a less reputable place and did that?"

"Ah, yes. I see your point, Hagrid. Well, it will be one hundred eighty galleons for the owl and all that he needs." After he was given the money, he said, "Okay. This should be enough, then."

"What a steal, though. Are you sure about the price?"

"Yes. I am hesitant to part with it, but he has clearly chosen his master."

"That's true." Hagrid said as the owner personally helps Dante with the stuff and getting it all sorted in his bag.

"Well, that's done, so all that's left to get is your wand, Dante."

At that moment, Juni's mother walks over to Hagrid. "Excuse me, Hagrid? Do you mind if I have a word with you?"

Hagrid turns around. "Yes, what can I do you for, madam?" he asks with an eyebrow raised a tiny bit.

Hagrid and the woman walked over a few steps past Dante.

After looking back to make sure Juni was occupied at the moment, she turns back to Hagrid. "I just received word that the protective precautions are in place... Please Hagrid, look after her well, for neither her father nor I would know what we'd do if something happened to her..." she said.

"I'll do my best to keep her safe. Of that, you have my word." says Hagrid.

Just then, Juni walks over to them. "Who's this, mother, a friend of yours? If so, then he's the tallest friend of yours I have ever seen. In fact, he's as tall as the giant peach in our garden!"

Hagrid and Juni's mother laughed, then she said, "This is Hagrid, the groundskeeper and teacher of Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts."

"Wow! I bet the animals respect him, too! I like animals. They're so much fun!" Juni replied in a happy tone.

"You have to respect the animals if you want them to respect you always. Remember that, Juni." says Hagrid.

"Mother always said to respect nature." Juni eagerly replied.

"Your mother is a smart woman, and very attuned to nature."

"Yep!" Juni said with a smile.

Juni's father enters the shop and walks up to the three of them. "Ah, here you are. Almost done, then?

"Yes," says Juni's mother, "I was just introducing Hagrid to Juni."

They see supplies behind him.

Juni looked at her father. "Father, did you know Hagrid is as tall as our largest peach?" she asked, still surprised.

"Hahaha. Yes, he is quite tall." her father replied.

"Part giant, actually." says Hagrid, surprising Juni.

"Dante, come over here." Hagrid says.

Dante walks over after putting the last bit of owl treats into his bag. His owl was sitting on his shoulder.

"This is Dante. He will be attending Hogwarts along with Juni this year." Hagrid said as soon as Dante stood beside him.

"Yay! A fellow student!" Juni says then reaches out a hand. "Hi hi, Dante! It's very nice to meet you. I'm Juni. Let's have as much fun as we can in school, okay?" she says with a cheery tone.

"Nice to meet you, Juni. I hope we have fun in school, also." Dante replied. As they shook hands, he couldn't help but to feel nervous. Even though it could be wrong of him to do so, he began to think he felt a strange sensation in his chest. If he had felt it, then he didn't understand what it was or why he felt that sensation.

"That's a handsome owl you have there, Dante." Juni's mother says this with a kind smile. "What breed

is it?" she asks.

"I don't know. He just said he's never seen one like it."

"Well, he is handsome."

"Thanks."

"You're very welcome."

Juni's father noticed a twinge of nervousness in Dante's voice. "What is your family name, Dante?" he asked once he had the chance.

"Oh, the boy was-" Hagrid said before Dante cut him off.

"I was raised in an orphanage. I was never given a last name or middle name. The letter the person left with me said 'Dante'. That's all I know."

"And a fine name, it is." said Hagrid.

Juni's father looks at Hagrid and after walking next to him, whispers to Hagrid, "Look after our little girl... She is, as I hate to admit, sometimes rather too naive for her own good, after all... If anything happens to her-"

Hagrid cuts him off by saying, "Haha, don't worry bout a thing. All will be well and remain well with Juni. You have my word."

After both Dante and Juni looked at their lists, they soon realized that they each had only a wand left to get. They walk out of the shop and head toward Ollivander's Wand Shop as Juni chimes in a singsong type voice, "Off to Ollivanders! Let's go!"

Her comment and the way she said it caused Dante to think, _Well, got to love her enthusiasm..._ as he placed on his head right while they all shared a laugh.

(To be continued.)


	4. Wand shopping & A Confession from Shaiya

They walk into the dusty wand shop as a man walks out from behind a shelf.

Juni is the first one to speak. "Hey, is Mr. Ollivander in here? There's a couple customers that wanna say hi and get wands." she says with a cheery enthusiasm.

"Ah, nice and quite enthusiastic, I see. Yes, it makes me happy to make wands when I see smiling faces like that. Your wands are here and ready for you." Ollivander paused, then began to speak again. "I had to be careful and specific with how to make it, which wasn't an easy task. I'll admit this is the first wand I've ever created for a Highbourne. It seems there are other races of which we have yet to be aware. Ahem, anyway, some of the other Highbourne and some faeries worked on it with me to get it done in time. I have to say that I am quite proud of it." he says as he pulls out a shimmering wand case.

Juni couldn't help but notice how beautiful the shimmering box appeared to be.

Dante smiles. "It really matches you. And we haven't even seen the wand, yet." he said then laughed.

Juni was surprised. "Really?" she asked then looked at Dante with a shy smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." he replied.

"YAY! How are you, by the way, Mr. Ollivander? Are you having a nice day? Umm.. what's in that box?" Juni asked.

"Hahaha, I'm doing well. It's a nice day today. It was bright but you all have made it somehow even brighter. I have here in this box that belongs to you: the wand that the Highbourne, even the faeries and I made for you." Ollivander replied.

Juni was surprised at first, then she felt excited and eager to see it, though she kept a normal happy face.

"Yay! May I see it?" she asked in her cheery voice.

Ollivander hands Juni the shimmering box.

After being handed the gorgeous box from him, Juni opens it and sees the pretty white-silver wand inside. "It's SO pretty!" she exclaims then looks at him. "Can I really have it?" she asked.

"Yes, child. After all, it was made specifically for you."

Juni smiles and hugs him, being careful not to damage the box. "Thanks, Mr. Ollivander!"

Ollivander chuckled a second. "You're welcome, Miss Svendrir. It was my pleasure."

"You know my last name." Juni said with a look of shock then looks at her parents. "Umm, is he a mind reading kind of wizard?"

Her father laughed. "No, Juni. He was the one commissioned to make the wand, so naturally he would hear our last name."

"Ohh, okay." she said as she imagined an embarrassed look on her face.

Dante couldn't help to laugh a little.

Juni looks at Dante. "Hey, look. I got my wand! I wonder what wand you'll get, Dante."

"Why don't you give it a wave, first, Juni, before saying it's your wand?" Juni's father says, trying not to laugh too much.

Juni gives the wand a wave. Suddenly, a ball of light appears and forms into a fairy, which flies, dancing around the room and laughing happily. It soon vanishes. "That was cool! Umm.. that was a good thing, right?" she said.

"Impressive, Juni." says Mr. Ollivander. "I am most certain you and your wand will spend a long time together.

"That's good to hear!" she said with a smile while thinking, _Yay! My own wand!_

Dante smiles, wondering if he'll be able to get an awesome wand that suited him, too.

Ollivander talks to Juni's parents and they pay him the price they agreed upon.

"Thank you, Garrick. We really appreciate this. How is this?" Juni's father says.

"Ah, yes. It works fine. However, I don't need the money you mentioned. It was an honour to make the wand. Thank you."

"No, thank you, Garrick."

Juni looks at Dante. "I wonder if you'll get an awesome wand, too."

"I don't know, Juni."

Ollivander looks at Dante. "Alright. Now, mister?"

"It's just Dante. I don't have a last name."

"So, how much will you be able to afford before I start searching?"

"No worries, Mr. Ollivander. The boy has recently inherited mountains of galleons." says Hagrid.

"Oh, I see. So, price isn't an obstacle. Yes. Well let's get started, then." he says as he looks for a wand, and soon looks back at Dante, coming out with one. "Now, let's try this." He hands Dante a wand, telling him that it's made of oak and dragon heartstring. "Let's see how this works. Just give it a flick."

Dante points it at a vase and the vase explodes, causing almost everyone to be shocked, including Dante.

"Well.. I guess that's not it." said Ollivander.

"Why did it go on and explode like that? Didn't it know it could've handled it another way?" Juni unknowingly said out of shock.

Hagrid laughs heartily as Mr. Ollivander hands Dante another wand.

"This one is made from cherry wood and phoenix feather." Ollivander said.

As soon as it enters Dante's hand, flames spread throughout the room. Juni's eyes widen at the sudden development.

"Well, that was...unexpected..." Ollivander said.

"Umm, I know I'm not an expert, but am I right to say that that wasn't it?" Juni asked.

He hands Dante many more wands and the results, while varying, remained pretty much the same.

"Well, I hope we find it soon, or I won't have a shop left." said Ollivander.

Juni couldn't help but look at the door and guess it led to a small few rooms in the back of the store as they go through almost all of the wands.

"Well, I am just befuddled. However, I wonder if this one will work." he said as he takes a box off a shelf and brings it over. This is an elder wand. I don't normally sell these." He hands Dante the box and stands back as if waiting to see what happens.

Dante picks it up and as soon as it enters his hand, a large stream of magical energy emanates from it, striking the wall and ceiling, leaving a deep mark, causing everyone to become wide eyed in response.

"Wow, that's impressive." says Hagrid. "I hope we can find a wand you can use though, Dante. We've almost been through them all."

Dante looks at Ollivander. "I'll pay for the damage." he says.

"No worries." Ollivander replies. "After all, I can repair it." With wave of his wand, the damage is undone.

"Wow Dante, that's impressive. I just hope we can find a wand that is meant for you. I don't see many left." said Hagrid.

"Well, I still have some." Ollivander says in response. They go through the last of the wands, including a few elder wands. "I am utterly confused." he says.

Juni looks at the door leading to the back, once more. She was resisting the urge to go back there for curiosity's sake.

"While I'm sure you can learn to use one of these wands, I've never seen anyone this hard to find the one meant for them... Hmm..."

Juni points at the back door. "Hey, Mr. Ollivander, can I ask about what's back there?" she asked.

He was slightly confused for a moment. "Well, there's just a few old things, such as broken wands and magical arti-" It was then that an idea came to him. "Hmm.. I wonder... Well, it doesn't hurt to try."

"What is it?" Juni asked.

Ollivander walks over to the vault door and takes a box from the room. "This is the only wand I haven't tried." he says while everyone stands around, watching. "I obtained this wand, long ago. The history of this box is unknown. In fact, I don't even know if a wand is inside, at all. As far as I know, it's never been opened. My mentor, his before him, and so on, but beyond that it's history is shrouded in mystery.

Now, I can make speculations, but they would be just that.

Hagrid looks at Ollivander. "So.. you think this box might open for Dante?" he asks.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to try, right?"

"True." says Hagrid.

Dante takes the box and a strange feeling washes over him. It makes him feel strangely at ease. As everyone silently watches, he turns it to the side and touches the little lock that holds it. Dante can feel the tension in the atmosphere. As Ollivander looked on with bated breath, there was a click. The lock pulls open and upward. Dante pulls the box open, pulling out a black wand. As Dante holds it in his hand, he feels as if the entire universe aligns for a moment and he can sense it all, able to fly through it seeing the entirety of space and all that there is. He could feel the intense power coursing through him.

Everyone else can also sense that the wand has chosen him for the wand emitted an energy that obviously shows that the wand is Dante's.

"Well, I think we found your wand, Dante!" Juni said happily yet relieved.

Dante breathes heavily. _Yeah, it seems we did._

Juni pats his back. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Juni." he replied with a small smile.

"Strange..." says Ollivander. "Truly strange, indeed."

 _What are they talking about? What's so strange about it?_ she thought as she listened in.

"What's up, Olli?" asks Hagrid.

"This child has this strange, mysterious wand and an inheritance, yet he has lived in an orphanage... It is indeed strange. This wand's powers are unknown. Neither the markings nor the materials that made it are anything I've ever seen before. I've never found what the box is made of, either. Not even my ancestors knew."

Juni hears a bird nearby as it squawked a lot. "That's not one happy bird." she said with slightly wide eyes.

Everyone in Ollivander's shop could hear someone shouting, "Shut up! I'm trying to be covert, you crazy bird. However, you making so much noise is interfering with that!"

Juni is somewhat surprised to hear that.

The small house fairy stands in a fighting pose as the bird makes a pose of her own. Like a flash, they are at each other. Juni and Dante watch through a window.

 _Wow, it's like a movie._ Dante thinks.

She flips and the bird kicks. The bird swipes at Shaiya with her claws and Shaiya dodges gracefully.

The fight carries on for awhile when Shaiya finally gets the upper hand.

As she stands over the bird, Dante says, "Shaiya!"

As she looks in his direction, she trips, landing into the gutter full of water. As she stands on the slippery ledge she loses her balance and tumbles down toward the street below. Dante dashes out and leaps, barely catching her as his back hits the ground.

Juni runs outside to better understand what was going on.

As Dante sits up, a freshly wet fairy stands up from him.

"Thank you." she said with embarrassment. She tries to fly but it's no good. She'd have to wait until her wings dried.

Juni approached them. "Dante, are you-" she says then notices Shaiya. She was surprised. "Dante, is she yours? She's so pretty! Are you both okay?"

"What's that, Dante?" asked Hagrid. "A house fairy? Ohh, those are rare. She yours?"

"Umm, I don't know who she belongs to."

After she tried looking around, Shaiya sighed. "Okay, I confess! Dante, truth is when I was born, it was already decided that you were to be my master."

"What? Who decided that?" Dante asked out of shock.

Hagrid looks at Dante, then back at Shaiya. "Yeah, I'd like to know, too." he said.

"I don't know... All I know is that my mother decided it a long time ago. But, I don't know who her master was." Shaiya said.

"This is indeed strange." says Hagrid and looks at Dante as if in deep concentration for a time.

"Yes.. it is strange..." says Juni's father. "All of it."

Out of shock, Juni spins around so fast that she almost went full circle as her father walks toward them.

"Father?"

"I don't know what it all means, but he might have a big part to play, as well."

"Wait, what?" Juni was suddenly putting her attention into the conversation.

"Hagrid, keep an eye on him for us, as well."

"Will do." Hagrid replies.

"Huh? Why? What's going on?" Juni asked her father.

"It's nothing to worry about, Juni. Not right now, at least."

"Okay!" she replied with a smile.

"I'm sure you will come to be good friends and have lots of fun at Hogwarts."

"Yeah!" Juni said.

"Well, we must be off. I love you, my dear daughter." said Juni's father.

"And love you, as well." says her mother.

She hugs them both. "Love you, too, mother. Love you, too, father. I'll write when I get there, okay?" she said.

"Okay, dear. Tell us all about it when you can." her mother said.

"Okay!" Juni said smiling.

"Goodbye, then. We love you." they say and hug their daughter tight before heading back towards The Leaky Cauldron.

When Juni's parents were far enough to be out of earshot and out of sight, Juni's mother stopped and stared back in the direction from which both her and her husband came. "That young man..." she spoke softly.

Juni's father noticed his wife had spoken and stopped, as well. "Is something troubling you, my dear?"

"Juni had never acted as if she were a social butterfly toward anyone, let alone a nervous one, before today. Haven't you noticed it?"

Juni's father thought about it. "Now that you mentioned it, I see I wasn't the only one. I'm uncertain if Juni was actually trying to be more social or if some spell had taken hold, but that young man... Let's just say he better not be intending to harm her..."

Juni's mother placed a hand on his arm. "My love, please compose yourself. It could just be that the.. time has come for her... We'll have much to discuss with her, next time we see her. However, while I know he is a man, I believe that young man will keep her safe..."

After a brief moment to ponder about it, Juni's father couldn't help but to agree. _However, what means could be used to achieve that is the matter that gets me worried the most... Dante... Why does that name sound familiar?_

They eventually made their way back near the entrance, but then had taken a secret route, which would lead them back home.

{Meanwhile; back at Ollivander's shop}

Dante's owl looks at Shaiya.

Shaiya notices, whispering to Dante, "He's staring at me..." from his other shoulder.

"Hi hi, Shaiya. I'm Juni." she says as she offers her pinky to Shaiya to do a handshake.

"Oh, okay." Shaiya said, then does her best to shake Juni's pinky, trying not to laugh.

Dante smiled, then said to Shaiya, "By the way, I think he's just trying to figure you out, Shaiya."

Ollivander stands nearby, watching the scene.

"Let's all be friends, okay?" she said then noticed Mr. Ollivander standing there. "Dante, you still need to pay and thank Mr. Ollivander for the wand!"

"Yeah." Dante says as he puts a hand on the back of his head, laughing nervously.

They walk inside and Dante pours out gold, and, yet again, Hagrid sorts through it and puts the rest back.

"This should be enough." Ollivander says. "I'm reluctant to part with it, but it has clearly chosen its master. Well, I'm sure you will be a fine wizard, Mr. Dante."

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander."

"Alright. Dante, Juni, let's head on to platform 9 3/4, so we won't miss the express to Hogwarts." Hagrid said.

Juni eagerly replied, "Okay!" while thinking, _Just hope I don't mess up in front of the other students._ She then looks at Dante. "Hey, Dante. Wanna sit together?"

Dante looked back. "Sure."

"Now, onward to Hogwarts!" Juni said, even though there was no trace of her feelings of nervousness.

Dante felt his stomach rumble. "We haven't ate, though. Let's stop and get some food to eat, on the way. My treat." he said, secretly wanting pizza.

"Are you sure?" Juni asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. After all, I have all this money, so why not spend a bit?" he said.

"Well, if you insist." says Hagrid.

"Okay, in that case.. onward to getting some food!" Juni said then laughed.

Dante, Shaiya, and Hagrid laughed with her. After they bought and ate their food, they managed to make it on the train before it could even be made to pull out of the station. They were on their way to Hogwarts.

(To be continued.)


	5. On the Hogwarts Express

At this point, they had been on the train about half an hour. Shaiya was happily sitting on the top of the seat that Dante was sitting in, which happened to be near the window.

"Ohhh, these cookies are SO good!" says Shaiya, munching on a chocolate chip miniature cookie. After

Dante offers her another one, she is surprised. "I can have more?"

Dante laughs as she immediately takes the cookie offered to her and starts munching on it.

"Thanks, Dante," says Hagrid, "The pizza was delicious. I'm glad they recently put that pizza shop in Diagon Alley." he said then laughed.

Dante laughed. "You're welcome, Hagrid. It was no trouble, at all."

Juni looked at Dante. "Thanks, Dante! Pizza's one of my all time favorite foods!" she said happily.

Dante was slightly surprised, then said, "Mine, too." as he let out a small smile.

"Yay! We got something in common already! I can tell we'll be great friends!" she said happily.

Dante agreed, hoping that he'd be able to make more friends as nice as her.

"So, Dante. Have you ever played.. one.. of.." she starts to ask as she starts trying to grab something from her purse and takes out a small, pale gold instrument and shows it to him, "these?" Juni said, finishing her question with a smile.

"Umm, no... Is it a flute?" Dante said.

Juni was shocked, but then smiled, happy that she gets to tell someone about what it was. "It's an ocarina. Trust me, it sounds much, much better than every flute I've ever heard, especially when it's properly played."

Dante smiled nervously. "Oh, I've heard of those, but I've never seen one before. Can you play it?"

"Of course I can. I've been playing it for a long time!" she said then let out an excited giggle.

"Oh, I must hear it, then." Dante said.

Juni looked eager to play. "Really? I can play, right now, if you want."

"I would like that." Dante replied.

"Yeah, that sounds nice. Let's hear it, then." says Hagrid.

Shaiya falls limp on the seat cushion. She had a happy face, with rosy cheeks that were also full of miniature cookies.

Juni smiled brightly. "Now to decide what song to play..." She thinks carefully for a moment. "..I got it!" Juni decided an old song her people often played during one of their few annual festivals.

As she plays, it quickly becomes evident that the ocarina is unlike anything Dante had ever heard before. The song had a hauntingly beautiful melody. He found it strangely intriguing how it sounded as he heard each note clearer than any flute he heard could've ever made. As she played, a group of students stood at the door, listening, one of which was a man about Dante's age whom he noticed was staring at Juni and in thought as she kept playing. The man had beach blonde hair, ivory skin, and brown eyes.

Before Dante could ask the man about who he was, Juni stopped playing and the man walked away.

Juni looked at the door, immediately shocked that the students were even standing there. "Wait.. when did I get an audience?" she asked nervously.

"It is quite mesmerizing." Dante said.

The audience claps and Juni laughs nervously. Shaiya is happily asleep after munching on cookies and hearing the ocarina play.

Dante smiles at Shaiya and sees Soren resting on Juni's shoulder and Moonshadow resting beside Shaiya. "That was really nice, Juni. I've never heard anything like it." he said as he looked at Juni.

Hagrid says, "Right. Beautiful, that was."

"Thank you..." Juni said with a nervous smile.

Both Dante and Hagrid say, "You're welcome." as Juni puts away her ocarina and the other students go back to their seats.

"I'll teach you how to make one, someday. That is, if you wanna make one, Dante." Juni said with a nervous laugh.

"I'd like that, Juni."

Later, Juni notices the suspicious look on Dante's face. "Umm, Dante? Is something wrong?" she asked.

After a couple moments of silence, she waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello?"

Dante quickly looks back at her. "It's nothing."

"You sure? If I didn't know better, then it looked like something..."

"It was just a random thought. So, I wonder what houses we'll get placed in..."

"Well, each of the houses are different. You can be a great wizard in whichever house you are put in." says Hagrid. "Slytherin seemed a little shady at one time, but they sorted themselves out a bit. Ravenclaw have those who are a smart lot. Hufflepuff is a good house for friendship and perseverance while those of Gryffindor are a bold and honourable lot. They are smart and like a good challenge, but most of them are humble... Not so much with Slytherin, for they are about winning. Many of them went to the dark side a long time ago, but I don't think many of those are still around..."

After a moment, Juni looked at Hagrid. "Hey, Hagrid, I heard from my mother that you have some interesting pets. Can I see, sometime?"

"Oh sure." says Hagrid. "After all, you gotta take classes eventually, anyway. Maybe I can show you lot, sometime." he said then laughed.

Juni said nothing, but appeared to be excited about it.

Dante smiled and looked out the window at the scenery. "It's really beautiful." he says.

"Oh, wait until it is winter. Everything is white from the snow." Hagrid says as Juni looks out the window. "It's beeeautiful during that time of year." A black lake spreads before them and a castle slowly comes into view. "Well," says Hagrid, "there she is... Hogwarts."

"So pretty." Juni says as she keeps looking out the window.

The train pulls into the station. "Well, follow me." says Hagrid as they take their things and follow him off the train. "The first year students take boats to the school." he said as they began packing their things into the boats and prepare for the ride across.

As they push off, they can see the older students heading off in carriages.

"Why do we ride the boats, Hagrid?"

Juni immediately says, "Because boats are awesome!" causing Dante and Hagrid to laugh.

Hagrid looks at Dante. "It's an old Hogwarts tradition, Dante. You will see more as the years go on."

As they move closer to the castle, Dante looks down and sees the black water glistening with rays of moonlight. In his opinion, Juni seemed overly excited when he looked at her. _Maybe she didn't get to travel often? Either way, gotta love the enthusiasm._ he thought with a smile at the end.

Juni was too busy taking in the sights to have noticed that he was looking at her.

Dante looked around. "I think I'm going to like it here."

"Me, too!" Juni replied.

"You're on the crash course, so you won't have as much time here. All that aside, I'm sure you will enjoy it."

As they get closer to the school, they can see the many balconies, turrets, and bridges.

Dante couldn't help but be impressed. "It is magnificent." he said.

"Forget the peach in the garden. If this school was a peach, it'd be the largest one in the whole world!" she said with shock.

They laughed a moment later. They get out and walk up towards the school. Hagrid, while hearing Juni's protests about it, carried her things. As they walked near the main courtyard, they could see the other students walking in, as well.

"Umm... Did.. the boats make us late?" Juni asked, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Haha, no. We're right on time." says Hagrid as he continues carrying Juni's things. "The carriages they ride are pulled by creatures called thestrals."

"Oh, you mean the strange horse creatures?" Dante asked.

"You can see em? .. Strange... Well, you can only see one if you have seen death at least once..." says Hagrid.

"I.. don't think I have..." Dante said.

"Well, maybe when you were a wee thing." says Hagrid as he imagined himself rubbing his beard for a moment. "Well, anyway... It's almost time for the sorting ceremony. We better get inside." he says as they walk across the courtyard and inside the large doorway.

(To be continued.)


	6. First Night at Hogwarts

As they walk into the great hall, they see a beautiful ceiling that mirrors the sky as a large number of floating candles helped to bathe the rest of the room in a soft light. Some fireplaces helped with warming the large area while also providing more light. A number of students slowly fill in, the other students finding their tables while the first years walked to the front and stand before the teacher's table. Dante and Juni walk to the front together. Hagrid leaves Juni's luggage in a safe place and takes his place at the table. After the last of the students are inside and the band stops playing its cheery tune, Headmistress McGonagall walks to the podium. Everyone takes notice of a strange looking hat sitting on a lone chair.

Headmistress McGonagall began to speak. "Welcome to Hogwarts, those of you who are new and old. For those of you who are new and do not know who I am, I'm Minerva McGonagall, the headmistress of Hogwarts. I wish each of you take something valuable this year that you will keep with you for a lifetime. Keep in mind that this is a house of learning, so try to learn something."

One of the students laughs, causing the headmistress to cut a piercing glare. The student fell silent

immediately with wide eyes.

Headmistress McGonagall resumed speaking. "I will give announcements after the sorting ceremony is concluded." she says then turns in the direction of the chair the hat is sitting upon. "You may begin."

Suddenly, the hat bursts into song, singing about many different things. From learning and accomplishment, to hardships and trials. It even sings about the many goings on of the wizarding world before it finally concludes. "Now then, let's begin." says the strange hat as it begins calling first year students.

"Thomas is.. Slytherin!" the hat says.

As each house gains a new member, the corresponding group of students would cheer. As the next student walks up to the hat, Dante wonders in which house he'll be placed.

"Oliver is... Ravenclaw! ...Charlie... Hmmmm... Better be Hufflepuff! ...Alfie has to be... HUFFLEPUFF! ... Hmm, not too easy... Jack... is in GRYFFINDOR! ...James... An easy one... Gryffindor it is! ...Oh, quite the thinker, aren't you, Joshua? ...Better be Ravenclaw! ...Robert... Hmm, a future shrewd businessman? I don't know but... he has all the qualities of SLYTHERIN! ...Oh, this one holds his honour with high regard and... maybe a future Quidditch player? William better be... Gryffindor! ...Daniel, huh? SLYTHERIN!"

Before the hat even touches Isabella's head, the hat shouts, "SLYTHERIN!"

The next girl sits on the chair as the hat is placed upon her. "Melissa, it is obvious which you are, and you are... SLYTHERIN!"

"YES!" Melissa shouts as she walks to her place at the Slytherin table.

A seemingly shy girl walks up and sits on the chair.

"Hmmmm..." says the hat. "Yes, you have potential but your shy nature might hold you back."

The girl quietly whispers, "Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor..."

"Hmmmm... Yes, I see... Aria is... GRYFFINDOR!"

Another girl walks up rather triumphantly as if she just won a tournament.

 _I can't wait to see what house I get put in._ Dante and Juni had unknowing thought at the same time.

"Sophie... truly confident... Hmmmm... There's certainly a drive to win... Better be... Gryffindor! ... Hmmm, young Eva with potential to be great in a number of houses, though you would be best in... GRYFFINDOR!"

The rest of the first year students are called by the hat, with the exception of a small few. The hat then called Scorpius Malfoy. "Hmm, yes, this is easy. Haha... Slytherin!" Scorpius walked to his table as Juni was called.

Juni sits down as the hat is placed upon her head. She thinks, _Any house but Slytherin, any house but Slytherin..._

"Hmmmm..." says the hat. "... Yes... No... Yes... Hmmm... Hmmmmmm... Yes... Better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

"AWESOME!" Juni said aloud.

The cheers from the Gryffindor table can be heard from all around the great hall. Dante claps heartily for Juni.

As Juni walks past Dante to go to the Gryffindor table, she whispers to him, "Hope you're in Gryffindor, too." with a smile.

Dante smiled back. "Thanks. I hope so, too, Juni."

Then, as Dante stands there, another walks up. Dante happened to overhear a conversation from some members of the Ravenclaw house.

"Nicholai Dimitri Petrovich? What's he doing here?" said one.

Another replied, "I heard he was supposed to go to Durmstrang, but something happened up there and his father put him in Hogwarts."

"Even I'm not sure what happened but it's been kept hush hush. There's nothing, even in the Daily Prophet. Well, those are just rumours probably..."

"Yeah, but if it's not, I wonder what happened..."

Dante stops and thinks to himself, _What could have happened? I know there were dark wizards left but were they responsible for this or something else? Wait.. I saw him on the train... Why did he look at Juni the way he did? I can't explain how, but something about him feels.. wrong..._ as the hat was placed on Nicholai's head.

The hat proceeded. "Hmmmm... Yes... Yes... Yes, you are meant for great things, indeed... Very challenging with a will to succeed. You would be best as... SLYTHERIN!" the hat said, causing cheers to fill the hall from the Slytherin table as his house is called.

As he walks down, he looks Dante in the eye for a moment before heading toward the Slytherin table and finding a seat.

Juni thinks, _Pleeeease let Dante be in Gryffindor..._ as she closes her eyes and bows her head slightly.

Finally, it was Dante's turn to learn in which house he would be placed. _I am the only one left. I hope I get Gryffindor..._ he thought to himself as he walked up to sit on the chair.

Headmistress McGonagall walks up to Dante and says, "Hello, Mr. Dante." After a response from Dante, she leans forward and places the sorting hat on his head.

"Ssssss... Oooooh... My, my, my... Very, very difficult... You have all the qualities for the other houses... I am having a hard time, haha... No... Yes? ... Nooo? ... Why? ... Okay, I think I have decided... Slyt..."

"No." Dante quietly says to the hat.

The hat was a bit surprised. "You don't want to live to your potential?"

"I don't want to be in that house..."

The hat is quiet for a second, then says, "No, I think I have to put my foot down, so to speak."

Dante's mind starts stirring and he says, "I want to be an honourable wizard and live up to my potential." His mind stirs further.

The hat groans for a moment. Strange glimpses flash in his mind. "I... see... No, I was wrong..." He doesn't say what he is thinking and keeps it to himself. After a moment of silence, he says, "Better be... GRYFFINDOR! WITHOUT A DOUBT, HAHAHA!" The hat thinks to himself, _If I had put him in Slytherin, things would not go well. It was almost like a vision into the future. Strange. He was meant for Slytherin, that I know, but he was destined to be in Gryffindor. Phew, dodged a bullet with that one._ as Dante stands up from the chair and walks toward the table.

"Everything alright?" asks Headmistress McGonagall.

"Yes, everything is... sorted." the hat replies. He looks to the left, then to the right. He laughs, then hums a song as he is carried off into the back room.

Juni looked at Dante as he walked over beside her and sat down. "Yay, you're in Gryffindor, Dante!" she said as she smiled.

Dante smiled nervously. "Yeah, I really thought he was going to put me in Slytherin, but something happened and I think he changed his mind because of whatever happened."

Juni secretly wants to laugh, but instead says with a surprised expression, "Holy cheese! You gotta tell me later!"

"Yeah." he replied before laughing.

Headmistress McGonagall resumes speaking, as promised. "To finish, first years are not allowed their own wands and will not be allowed to go to Hogsmeade with the older students. There are many corridors that are off limits. The restricted section in the library off limits to the younger students. Also, you would be advised to not go into the Forbidden Forest. It's called Forbidden for a reason." She goes through a seemingly endless list of rules they have to follow and class schedules for each year.

"Now... Let the feast.. BEGIN!" Headmistress McGonagall says. She then casts a spell and a plethora of food appears on the tables.

Juni and Dante were both surprised, as well.

"Oh wow." Dante says. "There's so much!"

In addition to some of the other food she had on her plate, Juni grabs a roll and takes a small bite of it. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the roll. She immediately grabs another one and offers it to Dante. "Dante, try one of these rolls!"

He accepts the roll and takes a bite. "Mm! These are better than any I ever had!" he says.

Shaiya flies close to Dante then darts off to the turkey, pulling a turkey leg twice her size up into the air.

She bounces up and down, struggling to make it to her plate.

Dante looks down at the small plate then looks at the huge turkey leg. He grabs another plate from a seat over, placing it under the turkey leg. "Drop it on this, Shaiya."

She stares at the plate that was being held underneath her for a moment, then drops it on the plate. "I could've done it on my own, you know. Humph!" she says and makes a funny face.

Dante places her plate beside his as she then lands on the table, grabbing a napkin and tearing it to create a makeshift bib for her to catch food on. Dante thinks to himself, _Yeah, that's not going to help much..._

She puts her hands together and then just dives in as Dante stares at her. She ignores everyone and digs in, munching away at the turkey leg on her plate.

After a moment, Dante looks at Juni. "Well... Do you like the food, Juni?"

"Yep!" she replied.

"There's so much stuff to choose from!"

"I know, right?"

"It's really great." Dante says.

Juni nods in response, appearing to be happy. Suddenly, she notices something on the table, pointing at it. "Look Dante! Pizza!" she says then laughs.

Dante immediately looks at the pizza that Juni was pointing at, then grabs a few slices. After he takes a bite, he looks at the pizza with an astonished look on his face.

Juni notices, and before she could ask, Dante said, "It's so good that it's like magic." as he grinned, causing both of them to laugh.

The students spend a long time enjoying the feast, then McGonagall says, "Alright, now that you have been fed, you will need to head to your common rooms. Tomorrow, you will begin your first lessons, so sleep well, my young witches and wizards. Now, each of you will need to speak to the heads of your houses for the password to enter the common rooms. The head of Gryffindor is Professor Victoria Rosewood. The head of Hufflepuff is Professor Robin Swansong. The head of Ravenclaw is Professor Jin Suzuki. And lastly, Professor Kron Dragoneye is head of Slytherin." she says, pausing to gesture to each of them.

"I heard Professor Dragoneye is a bit extreme, at times." says one of the other new Gryffindor housemates. "They say he fought a dragon and took his eye. I'm not sure on what the details are, but he did it to match his name, some people have said."

"Wow, that's crazy." Dante says as he looks up at the high table. Dante noticed Dragoneye staring at him. Another teacher talks and for a moment he seems to not notice, then he turns his gaze away.

"Yeah... He seems a little intense."

"Well, he is a vampire." says the student.

"Yeah, that's true, I guess." he replied as he looked up at the table and saw all of the teachers enjoying their meals. Dante soon noticed a serious expression on Juni's face. Before he could ask about it, Juni had a happy look on her face, once more. _What crossed her mind, just now?_

As the students were finishing up, McGonagall says, "You are dismissed." as Dante turned to look at Shaiya.

"Ugghhhh, I think I ate too much... Please... Carry meeee..." Shaiya said, obviously showing signs of her feeling overstuffed.

Dante laughed for a moment before picking her up and walking toward the entrance of the great hall.

"Juni." says McGonagall from behind. She walks up and says, "Hagrid will escort you to your sleeping accommodations."

Juni was both surprised and confused. "My what?"

Hagrid walks up. "Hi Juni, Dante. Did you enjoy your meal?"

Juni and Dante agreed that it was delicious.

Dante then went back to the subject that had him as Juni was about it. "So, Juni won't be sleeping in the common rooms?"

"Yeah, what about that?" Juni asked.

"No, Dante. Not right now."

"Why?" Dante asked in response.

"Ermm..." Hagrid looked at McGonagall for a moment then looked back at Dante. "I can't say exactly... It's just for safety reasons. That's all."

Dante was confused. "It's not safe in the castle?"

"It's safe. That I can promise you."

Juni wondered if she did something to get herself in trouble.

"Then, why can't she sleep in the common room?" Dante asked.

Hagrid, having noticed Juni's expression, he said, "No, Juni, you're not in trouble for anything." Hagrid looked back at Dante. "It's just for safety reasons, is all. There's no need for either of you to worry."

Juni smiles as she secretly thinks to herself, _JUST FOR SAFETY REASONS, MY BUTT! I KNOW SOMETHING GOING ON HERE, SIR!_

Dante thought about how strange it was that the headmistress had Hagrid watching over Juni like a hawk. _Why does the headmistress want a close eye to be kept on Juni? Is there something going on about which we should be informed?_

Hagrid said, "Besides, it's a special place her folks and a few of the people from her village had built. The headmistress just agreed to it. I don't know her, sometimes, but we just have to trust that she knows best."

Dante couldn't argue with Hagrid's statement, so he left it alone for the time being. "Okay, Hagrid." He watched as they walked out the doorway into the courtyard in the direction of the forest. "Hmmmm... Well, we had better get off to bed, Shaiya. Tomorrow is a long day."

"UGH! You're telling me... I REALLY shouldn't have had so much turkey, but let me tell ya... IT WAS WORTH IT!" she said before forcing a huge smile and falling asleep.

Dante laughs and carries her up the moving staircases that led toward the painting of the fat lady. He told her the password. "Bumbling brats battling boredom with butterbeers."

The fat lady says, "I truly don't understand that password, but you may pass."

Dante walks inside and immediately finds that his things are already in front of a bed that says his name. He changes into his sleeping clothes and lays Shaiya into her miniature bed beside him and drifts slowly into sleep.

{Meanwhile}

"Hagrid, where ARE we going?"

"Not far, Juni. It's just inside the forest." he said, causing Juni to become concerned.

"But.. I thought it was forbidden!"

"That's just the forest around Hogwarts, Juni. Where we're going is close to my hut, so no need to worry. Besides, Hogwarts recently received magic cameras now for the students' protection. No need to worry, Miss Juni. It's all sorted, so you can just rest your little head for your big day tomorrow."

"Seriously, though... I'm not in any trouble?"

Hagrid laughs. "No, no. It's just something your parents set up for you to be in.. ermm.. a place that feels more like home."

 _HMMM, IS THERE SOMETHING UNSORTED GOING ON, HERE?_ "Well, if you say so Hagrid." she says with a smile.

After a while, Juni and Hagrid arrive at a three story house. Juni was surprised at the size. "Did they think I needed that much space?"

"I don't know. Maybe they did, haha." Hagrid says as he looks around. Once he knows the coast is clear, he says "Well, good night, Juni. I'm gonna head off to bed. It'll be a long day tomorrow."

"Okay, night Hagrid, and thanks!" she says with an innocent smile while thinking, _I wish you'd come out with it, Hagrid... Something's going on here, isn't it?_

Hagrid thinks to himself, _I sense she's smarter than she lets on to be... Well, just to be safe, I'll have to keep my guard up with that one, or else I might just go spilling secrets..._

Hagrid leaves to head toward his place as Juni is left there, wondering what in the world was going on.

The endless possibilities occupy her mind until she is asleep in her bed.

They all get a long night's rest for the lessons ahead on their first full day at Hogwarts...

(To be continued.)


	7. Intro to Defense Against the Dark Arts

After they wake up, Dante and Juni make their way to the great hall and sit down to eat their breakfast.

"Morning, Juni."

"Morning, Dante!" Juni replied with a smile, causing him to smile back.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Yep! How about you?"

"Yeah, I slept pretty well."

Juni smiled. "I can't believe we start classes today. I don't know why, but I'm sooo excited!" she said.

"Me, too!" says Shaiya as she seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

{Few minutes later inside the great hall}

"Wow, look at all this food!" Shaiya exclaimed and flew straight toward their seats, causing Dante to laugh as Juni smiled with amusement.

They sat down where Shaiya was waiting. "Well let's eat. Classes start at nine." Dante said. _This is great!_ Dante thought as he ate his food.

Juni is eating French toast while Dante eats an obviously large breakfast, including an omelette, bacon, biscuits, and peaches. He has a glass of orange juice to drink. Shaiya happily munches on some bacon and toast.

As she sipped on a cup of Honeysuckle Tea, Juni notices how much Dante had on his plate. "Wow, I guess you must be REALLY hungry." she said with a mildly surprised expression.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I guess so."

As they enjoy their meal, they look up and a moment later, see a flurry of owls fly into the great hall.

Soren flies down towards Juni and lands right in front of her after dropping the letter he brought.

Moonshadow darts down and lands abruptly in front of Dante with a letter, placing it in front of his plate.

 _Hmm, I wonder who it's from..._ Dante thought as he opened his letter.

Juni didn't expect the owls to fly into the great hall during breakfast. "Mail time already?" she asked as she opened the letter and looked at it. She smiled. "It's from my parents!" she said as she opened it and started reading the letter.

Dante reads his letter. After he finished reading his letter, he looked at Juni. "What does your letter say?"

Juni looked at Dante after she finished reading hers. "They were just wishing me a good first day and telling me they were proud of me. What did your letter say?" _They also instructed me to be careful, but should I tell him that? I probably shouldn't... Wait.. why did my parents feel the need to say that? I'm not that careless..._

He laughed a little. "It was from the people who had taken care of me at the orphanage. They said they were hoping I would enjoy my life as a wizard and were wishing me well. They'll miss me, hoping I become a great wizard and make them proud."

"Well, anything is possible if you just believe." Juni said.

Dante smiled as he looked at all the names on the last page of the letter. "The other kids signed it, too.

There's a whole page!" he said then chuckled a little. As Juni gave a tiny giggle, he looked at her. "Let's do this, Juni. Let's become the greatest wizards we can be!" as he thought, _I guess her enthusiasm can be contagious._

"YEAH! And, let's have lots of fun, too!" she said with an eager expression on her face.

Dante looked at his watch. "We'll have to hurry. The bell will chime soon. The first class is Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Juni's eyes opened wide. "Oh, my! You mean Mr. Scaryman's class?"

Dante laughed. "He doesn't look that scary to me... Well, we better hurry, or else we'll be late."

Juni nodded with a nervous look on her face as they stand up. Dante noticed that most of the students were already on their way to class. Juni runs ahead. "Let's hurry!" she said, then thought, _Even though I don't wanna go to Mr. Scaryman's class..._

They eventually make their way to the dungeon toward the classroom. They soon take their seats. It is immediately evident that Professor Dragoneye has yet to enter the room.

Juni immediately thinks, _He's gonna jump out at us. He's gonna jump out at us. He's jump out at us!_ as she looks around, appearing to be on high alert, in case he actually did jump out at the students.

They both look toward the door as Kron entered the classroom and walks through the room until he stood in front of his desk.

"Welcome to Hogwarts and to your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Now, I know I can be tough on you, sometimes, but it is because I believe and wish that you all become great wizards. Over the course of the next few years, I will teach you what you need to know to protect yourself from the dark arts and various creatures. We will learn defensive spells and what they are used for, as well as practical use through hands on training. This is a safe environment, though, so I will not tolerate misuse of magic in my classroom. I also will not tolerate horseplay. You wouldn't want to get on my 'bad' side." Professor Dragoneye said, then stared around the room with his dragon eye, causing Juni to become a bit uneasy.

 _Do not kill me, please?_ Juni thought to herself.

Kron then resumed. "Now, we will learn about jinxes and counter jinxes, as well as spells that are considered 'antijinxes', defensive spells, and offensive spells. We'll also be learning curses, counter curses, as well as other things aside from those. Dark wizards use these spells. You may say that there aren't many dark wizards around, anymore. But, the truth is that they're more tenacious than you would think. The dark side is alluring, but keep in mind that this class is to give you protection, should the time come when you'll need to protect yourself or others from such magic. Some of the coursework this year will include: Curse of the Bogies; the knockback jinx; the Verdimillious charm; the wand lighting charm, which is called Lumos; and how to cure werewolf bites. We will also learn about other things, including: Gnomes; Doxies; Giant Orange Snails; imps; bowtruckles; the Vermillious charm; and fire crabs. That is typically what a first year learns, but you will be taking on the second year coursework, as well."

As Professor Dragoneye continued explaining the lessons they would be learning, Juni couldn't help but want to run out of the room as she paid attention. _His eye's soooo creepy! Even without it, he scares me!_

"That's the majority of the coursework for this year. We will be learning about many of these things, firsthand. I will expect much of you, but remember: It isn't above your abilities. You are very capable." he says, then explains a bit of each topic he had mentioned for the remainder of the class.

Dante couldn't help but notice that, throughout the class, Professor Dragoneye kept glancing at him, as if he was waiting for something to happen.

Juni has noticed it, as well, but acts like she hadn't. _Why does he keep looking at Dante? Is there something written on his face or something?_

"Class dismissed." Kron says before he begins to walk toward his office.

As they left the classroom, Juni had asked him why the professor kept looking at him.

Dante shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know why he kept staring at me, but I look forward to learning more about the class."

Juni looked ahead. "Yep, I do, too. However, I can't but wonder if he thought something was on your face." she said with a small grin.

Dante chuckled. "I wouldn't have a clue about that. Anyway, are you ready for the next class, Juni?"

"Yay! I can finally leave the lair of Professor Scaryman!" she said happily, which made Dante want to laugh. "I wonder how he got the dragon eye to be smaller than normal size, though..."

"Does he scare you that much?" Dante asked.

Juni nodded. "My people both respect and fear dragons. While many would allow one of us near them, some of them are not as friendly. Supposedly, the black dragons are included in the list of dragons to avoid because to see one means death for you or someone you know. It is extremely rare that they target anyone else other than the one that finds them. Just to be safe, you better hope that you never meet a black dragon, red dragon, or even a green dragon. In fact, the safest ones are the dragons that have either silver or gold scales. Regardless, it's hard to tell which type of dragon he had taken the eye from, considering there are many kinds."

Silence filled the air for a few minutes. Dante was in thought, wondering what Juni knew, as well as how much of those things she knew. "Well, are you ready for the next class?" he asked after the silence felt awkward to them both.

Juni appeared to get her enthusiasm back. "Potions, yay!"

Dante smiled. "Okay, let's go." he said as they kept walking to the next class. _I know I can't explain how, but I feel as if there's far more than that on her mind..._

(To be continued.)


	8. Intro to Potions

Dante and Juni head toward the spiral staircase.

"Okay, Juni. This says we need to go to the third floor." Dante said, to which Juni had responded with a nod.

They get to a portion of the stairs that had stopped when suddenly they had heard a voice behind them.

"So, how's school coming along for you two?" the voice said.

They turn around and see an ethereal being.

"Who are you?" Dante asked with a curious expression.

"My name is Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. My friends call me 'nearly-headless Nick', though." the being said.

"Oh, yeah. I've heard of you. You're the Gryffindor house ghost."

"Yes, indeedy. Pleasure to make your acquaintances." he says and bows. His head tips over before he puts it back in place.

"Yes, it was nice meeting you, too. Hogwarts is amazing, so far. I really like it here." Dante said.

Nicholas then asked, "So, where are you headed?"

"Oh, Potions." Dante replied.

"Ah, yes. Third floor. They switched the locations around a bit, recently. I guess the dungeon is more suited to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ahh, the port key. Third floor, classroom 3C."

"Thanks, Nick. See you around."

"You, too, and welcome to Hogwarts. Cheerio." then says, "I have a bloody meeting with the baron. Ughhh." as he floated away.

As they turned around, the staircase that was aligned with them was already moving away.

"Quick, Juni, or we'll be late." Dante said.

They both leap forward, with Dante holding onto her to make sure she didn't fall. Unbeknownst to either of them, for a moment, Juni's face turned slightly red. They managed to land on the stairs.

"That was close. We almost missed it." Dante said.

"Y-yeah..." she replied then gave a small nervous laugh.

"We don't have much time left. We better hurry." Dante stated as they made their way up the stairs and down the hallway. They finally reach a door that said "3C". "This is it, Juni." he said as they walked into the room. They saw it was empty.

As Juni wondered if they were late, a few students come into the room. They were laughing and talking about things like quidditch and Weasley Weezes. As they walk to the middle of the room, they look over at Juni and Dante.

"Are you coming to potions?" asks one of the students.

"Yeah." Dante said while Juni nodded.

"Oh, right. Then come place your hands on this hat." a girl with deep brown hair and green eyes said, pointing to a fancy top hat in the middle of the room.

All of them walked up to it.

"On the count of three, everyone will place their hands on the hat. One.. two..." and on three, they all placed hands on the hat. They were all pulled from Hogwarts into a distant land far from where they just were. They somehow landed on a pile of soft pillows.

"Good. Good, you're here. You're the last. Come on and I'll get started." a Japanese man said from in front of his desk.

One of the two male students said, "That's the Potions instructor. His name is Professor Suzuki. We're currently in Japan. My name is William." He then gestures to the girl. "This is Eva." he says then he gestures to a boy with dark, blonde hair and brown eyes. "And this is Jack."

"Hey, what's up?" Jack says.

"Hi." Eva says to both Dante and Juni as she shakes Juni's hand.

"Nice to meet you. We are Gryffindor, as well." Dante said before they went to take their seats.

Professor Suzuki nodded once he saw that all the students were in their seats. "Now, let's get started since everyone is here. Welcome to Potions. I am the potion master at Hogwarts and I'm sure you're all wondering why the class is held here. Well, I like this setting and it's easier to teach in this environment. Besides, it is relaxing to sit under the sakura trees and concentrate. Now, we have one textbook for this class: "Magical Drafts and Potions" by Arsenius Jigger. Today, we will just be going over the main potions which we will be learning through the course of the year. I will ask that instructions be followed precisely as they are given. Doing otherwise will possibly give undesired effects. You wouldn't want a potion blowing up in your face."

Juni felt like she wanted to laugh at the thought, but kept quiet.

"For this class, you will need: a cauldron; brass scales; phials; and various other tools and ingredients, of course. We will be learning the first and second year subjects, this year. These subjects will include: aconite; bezoars; some basic details on the preparation of the Draught of Living Death, such as what would be created if root of asphodel was added to an infusion of wormwood and the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane; cure for boils; and the forgetfulness potion. You will need to collect the ingredients for the Wiggenweld potion and learn the twelve uses for dragon blood, even though you will be learning about the Wiggenweld potion later on in the year."

Juni couldn't help but be shocked at the thought of anyone using a dragon's blood for anything, let alone a potion. _Why would they do that to a dragon? It makes me feel like crying. I hope they were already dead when the blood was collected. At least, they wouldn't have had to feel pain during the process. As a matter of fact, why does it even require any kind of blood? I hope nobody thought of using any blood from my people._ she thought with a sense of dread, regardless of the fact that her face had never shown any signs of the emotions she felt in response to that comment.

"We'll also learn about the Sleeping Draught, the hair-raising potion, and finally the swelling solution. We will go over techniques used in potion making and learn a lot of other things. So, let's work hard this year, and become better together as a class." he said with a smile. He then proceeded to discussing the various things to do when making a potion, as well as what not to do. "So, in closing: Sometimes, there's a better way, but it's generally best to go by the book. Well, that's all for today, class. It's time for lunch." he says.

{A short while later, near the great hall}

"Well, that class wasn't too hard. In fact, it seems pretty interesting." Dante said.

"Yeah, I think it'll even be a fun class, too, Dante!" Juni said with a smile while thinking, _I wonder how Dante felt about the possibility of using dragon blood... I couldn't help but feel repulsed at the thought..._

"Juni, what went through your mind earlier during potions class? I don't know if you were trying to hide it, but you looked like you were upset about possibly using dragon blood for potions. How much does it bother you? I'm not trying to be mean. I just want to know." Dante asked a minute later.

Juni stopped in her tracks near the doors to the great hall, looking down at the floor and tightly held her bag, which contained her books, against her. "Dragons are, to an extent, one group of allies out of at least several that my people have. We've been allies with each other for what'd appear to be countless years. I've even come to cherish them not just as allies, but as friends, too... Therefore, the thought of using such an ingredient is terrible. However, it's even worse if it was collected while the dragon was alive. If I truly have to use the blood of one, I'd rather use some from a dragon that has already passed away, so I won't have to bear the guilt of using some from one made to suffer for the sake of a potion..." she said with a solemn tone in her voice.

Dante, having stopped behind her, placed a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. I wouldn't want to do that, either.. with the blood of anyone or anything, if they were made to suffer from it..."

Juni nodded. ".. Thank you..."

Dante smiled. "Well, let's go have lunch and take a little rest before going to Transfiguration."

"Okay." Juni replied with a small smile as they walked into the great hall. _Thank you, Dante... You're a good friend to have..._

(To be continued.)


	9. Intro to Transfiguration

{A short while later; Outside the great hall}

"I'm stuffed!" Dante said.

Juni laughs. "It's no wonder, as much as you ate."

Dante placed a hand behind his head as he gave a nervous laugh. After a moment, he says, "Let's go relax a bit before we have to go to Transfiguration. I've heard that class is hard."

Couple minutes later, they are under a nearby tree. Juni is sitting while Dante was laying down, his head against the bottom of the tree.

He was waving his wand, wondering how it all works while Juni was getting her ocarina out from her concealed pouch. He had forgotten that she kept it with her all the time.

She decided to play the Japanese folk song, "Sakura Sakura", to pass some of the time. Just like before they had arrived at Hogwarts, the notes came out so beautifully clear. Somehow, the way she played each song gave them an impression that Dante'd never forget.

 _Juni has a real talent for it. I've never heard anything that sounded as beautiful as this. I'm glad I know now about how an ocarina sounds._ he thought as he closed his eyes and listened.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Nicholai watched from a distance while he thought about something.

Having felt like something or someone was there, Dante looked in the direction he sensed. However, he soon saw that no one was there. Before Juni could ask, Dante said, "Thought I heard something, but I guess it was nothing..." then looked at Juni.

She had stopped playing her ocarina about a minute before. "Well, I don't know about that, now, buuut... Wait.. what time is it?"

"We should head to class. We have fifteen minutes to get there."

Juni felt like pouting, but then thought that maybe the next class would be fun, too. "Okay, let's go!" she said after putting her ocarina back into the pouch she kept concealed.

Dante wondered if it was one of her most treasured possessions, and if so, what significance it would have to her. He couldn't find an answer by the time they arrived in front of the classroom, so he left the thought alone for a later time. "Classroom 1B. Looks like we're here, Juni."

"Let's hope this'll be fun, too!" Juni said with a small giggle.

"Yeah, I hope so, too." Dante replied as he checked the sign above the door. "This is the place." he says and they walk inside. "I don't see the teacher." he said after they take their seats. However, it was soon obvious that there was a beautiful snow owl on the teacher's desk. Dante got a strange feeling from it as they had taken their seats.

At the same time, Juni had no such feeling from seeing the owl. "It's soooo pretty..."

Dante couldn't help but wonder if Juni was hiding something, or if if she was truly this excited about the first day. _All the times I ever saw someone this excited, they had sadness or anger that they kept hidden._ he thought as Juni looked at him, giving a small wave. _Is that her case, or is it something else entirely?_

The students in the room waited for the rest of them to show. William, Eva, Sophie, and Aria are the last inside before the bell rings.

A couple minutes have passed when Jack walks in the door. He looks around and concludes that the teacher had yet to show. "Yes!" he says and does a hand gesture like he just won a free pizza. He then goes and finds his seat next to Eva.

The owl flies around the room for a moment, then lands directly on Jack's desk.

Juni couldn't help but admire the owl as it was in flight.

Eva asks, "Jack, why were you late?"

"Well.. I went to use the bathroom, and I noticed this annoying ghost. Mind you, I was on the way to class, but I don't know how he got on my nerves. Then, we had a few words."

"What ghost?"

"I don't know... Peeves something... He's the most annoying ghost I ever met. Oh, my god! After we got into the argument, he took my books and stuff for class and hid them. It took me a while to find them."

The owl looks at jack intently before it landed in front of the desk and transformed into a human woman, which surprised Juni because she hadn't expected it.

The woman had shoulder-length hair that was dark red, light brown eyes, and honey beige skin. She turns and takes a tuft of cobweb from Jack's hair, saying, "Peeves is a poltergeist, to be specific."

After the initial shock, Juni thinks with silent sarcasm, _Yaaaay, a poltergeist..._

"He loves his pranks. Good to know you weren't just skipping class." the professor said. "Good afternoon, class. I'm Professor Rosewood. Now, onto transfiguration. The owl I previously was is a type of human transfiguration. There are four branches of transfiguration we will learn here at Hogwarts."

Juni quickly raised her hand. After Professor Rosewood called on her, Juni said, "Well, I gotta admit you were truly a pretty owl." with a nervous smile.

The comment had slightly surprised the professor. "Well, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Professor Rosewood resumed. "The four types of transfiguration include: Transformation; Vanishment; Conjuration; and Untransfiguration. We will learn various things in this class. Now, I will tell you that it is not an easy class and can be truly dangerous if you don't take this class with a serious attitude. You will not only put yourself in danger but your classmates, as well. Therefore, I won't tolerate this kind of behaviour. Now, we can have a lot of fun in my class. Let's try to enjoy it together and learn things along the way."

Juni wondered if anyone had tried transforming into a dragon, but then realized the thought was something that shouldn't be considered. _After all, they'd have to be insane to try doing that, right?_ she thought then looked at Dante. He looked so intent on learning. She found it to be a bit cute. She then looked back at Professor Rosewood.

"Now, lets get started. I'll explain what transfiguration is. Transfiguration is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure. Transfiguration can be done to most, if not all, objects and, as with most forms of magic, it includes - but is hardly limited to - Transfiguration spells. Transfiguration is also regarded as "very hard work" and is "more scientific" than any other form of magic as in, you have to get it exactly right for the transfiguration to be successful. Transformation is divided into three sub-types, each with their own divisions and all of which overlap with one another to some degree. The first subtype is known as Human Transformation, which includes: Animagus; Metamorphmagus; and Werewolf. However, Human Transformation is taught to 6th or 7th year students. Next is Switching. Switching is another sub-type of transformation magic. During switching, a physical feature from one of the two targets is switched with that of another, hence the name. It differs from a straight transformation in two ways: firstly, switching targets two objects simultaneously; secondly, the change in one of the pair is dependent on a change in the other. The only known sub group of switching to date is cross-species switching. Then, there are Trans-species Transformations. This is a term which refers to transformation magic that, partially or completely, changes the target organism into a new species. It includes Cross-species switches and hence has some overlap with switching magic. Next is Vanishment. Vanishment is the art of causing things to Vanish. It is, in other words, to make things go into non-being."

Juni couldn't help but think, _This is gonna be a lot to remember..._ with slightly widened eyes.

"Vanishment is moderately difficult - learned in Fifth Year - and is considered one of the hardest transfigurations to be tested on in one's O.W.L. The difficulty of the Vanishment to be performed positively correlates with the complexity of the organism to be Vanished. For example, invertebrates are easier to Vanish than vertebrates. Strangely, only one incantation is needed to Vanish any object - Evanesco , which is Latin for "disappear". This is unlike conjurations, which can require a variety of complicated incantations. The third form of transfiguration is Conjuration. Conjuration is the art of bringing things into being, and hence is the opposite of Vanishment. It is harder than its counterpart, being a N.E.W.T. level feat. One should note that there are numerous restrictions - both in Law and Nature- placed on the art of Conjuration, unlike Vanishment which appears to be unrestricted. For example, something that is conjured will not remain in being, but it is unknown whether or not something that is vanished could forever remain in non-being if left to its own devices. Last but not least is the final type of transfiguration, Untransfiguration. Untransfiguration is the art of reversing a previous transfiguration, and is therefore considered both a transfiguration and a counter-spell. When transfiguring, it is important to make firm and decisive wand movements. Do not wiggle or twirl your wand unnecessarily, or the Transfiguration will certainly be unsuccessful. Transfiguration is a very systematic, exact magical discipline, working best for the scientifically-inclined mind, and as such, it is deemed very hard work, especially when compared to Charms, which affords a much larger margin for personal creativity. There are a number of factors a wizard must take into account when carrying out Transfiguration spells. The intended transformation is directly influenced by body weight, viciousness, wand power, concentration, and a fifth unknown variable." she says then writes the formula on the board for the students to see.

"Whilst Transfiguration is an exceedingly useful branch of magic, it naturally has its own set of limitations. The branch of Transfiguration known as Transformation has the largest number of restriction placed upon it - both natural and legal. Firstly, even before one becomes an Animagus, which is a person that specializes in both Trans-species transformation and Human transfiguration, one is monitored closely as attempting to become such a thing is highly dangerous and even if one succeeds one must then register oneself at the Ministry of Magic or face trial, due to the many potential uses of this kind of transfiguration in criminal activity. An Animagus is also limited by the fact that they can only transfigure into one kind of animal this way. Conversely, general Human Transfiguration is more varied in that it allows one to transform another into a plethora of different animals but, on the other hand, the object of transfiguration will then possess the intelligence of the creature they become, which is unlike Animagi, who retain all their mental faculties in animal form. If this is an animal of lower intelligence, which is more likely than not, then one will, by extension, be entirely dependent on the caster to untransfigure them, which could potentially cause someone to be stuck in that form forever. This is why it is not recommended to cast this type of transfiguration on oneself. Usually, a wizard or witch attempting to perform a transfiguration spell would often find it easier to transfigure one thing into something else provided that the state it was originally in had something in common to what it would be converted into. An example would be a statue of a dragon turning into an actual dragon, albeit of the similar size. Transformation is also limited by the fact that the dead cannot be revived via magic and hence one cannot "transfigure" the dead back to life, no matter how recently the death occurred. The overall mass and size of the object or entity to be transfigured into something else must also be considered. Conjuration is principally limited by the Five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. The first, and only known, of these is the restriction that one cannot conjure food. However, pre-existing food can be charmed in certain ways - such as by summoning and multiplication - and transfigured by the other branches. Similarly, Wizarding law sets legal limitations on what one is and isn't allowed to conjure. Finally, even if it is both possible and legal to conjure something, it will ultimately never last. Strangely, whilst there are a variety of limits placed on Conjuration, the branch referred to as Vanishment seems to be completely unrestricted and this also appears true of Untransfiguration."

Juni felt like Professor Rosewood could keep talking about all of this in great detail. To Juni, Dante still seemed interested. She was, too, but it seemed a bit confusing.

"Due to the applied, precise nature of Transfiguration magic there is a large potential for it to go disastrously wrong, even for the experts. This is especially true if the practitioner is not taking things seriously and/or punching above their weight, with respect to the magic they are attempting to perform. If it is done improperly, the Transfigured object can become half-Transfigured or permanently stuck in one state, regardless of whether that state is fully or partially Transfigured. Many of the things I have mentioned you will not learn until a later year. But in time, you will know all that you need about transfiguration." Professor Rosewood said with a smile, then pulled out a tray of cookies. "Who wants a treat? I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies."

Dante and Juni take a couple.

"Thanks, Professor Rosewood. I thought I wouldn't like this class, but I think you will make it fun."

"Well it's easier to learn in a stress free environment. Next class, we'll get started on learning some things, but I'll try to keep it fun."

They all talk for a while until the bell rings. Dante and Juni then head out the door into the hall.

(To be continued.)


	10. First Time Flying

They find their way to the moving staircase and out into the courtyard. From there, they find our way to the training grounds where the next class will begin. They all stand around for a while until everyone is present then, as the bell rings, a woman on a flying broom makes her way to the students from above the school. As she nears the group she leaps onto the ground below, catching her broom above her.

"Hi, everyone. My name is Ginny Potter, and I'll be your flying instructor for this year."

"Wow, that was cool." Dante said as Juni looked on with an eager look in her eyes.

"Thanks." she says then asks, "So, who's ready to learn how to fly?"

"I WANNA FLY!" Juni said with a smile after raising her hand as she jumped up and down.

Dante couldn't help but laugh to himself. _I have to admit... Her enthusiasm is definitely contagious._

"I like your enthusiasm, Miss Svendrir. You might become a flier someday." Professor Potter said.

Juni smiled as Dante looked at her.

Dante smiled a small smile, then looked back at the professor.

"Today, we'll go over the basics. To begin with, let's see if you can make your broom come to your hand. Just say 'up' and will it to come to you. Brooms sometimes have a personality of their own. When you purchase your own broom, it may respond better than these brooms. Some of you may already have your own broomsticks so use yours instead, if you wish."

Dante reached into his bag, pulling out a black broomstick with no name engraved. Juni gets her broom ready. Her broom was made to match the look of her wand.

Dante looks at Juni's broom and admires the fine craftsmanship. "That's a nice broom, Juni. It looks like it suits you."

Juni gave a nervous laugh. "Thank you. So does yours, Dante."

"Thanks." he replies, then looks more closely at his, seeing carvings in it that resemble runes.

"Hmm..." Dante and Juni hear from behind them.

Juni wasn't expecting anyone to be right behind them.

"Those brooms are not like any kind I have ever seen before." says Professor Potter. "Where did you buy them?" she asks.

"Well, mine was made special, just for me." says Juni.

"Hmm, and yours, Dante?"

"Well, mine was in my vault. It was left to me..."

"Lay it down." Professor Potter says and takes out her wand. "I want to make sure it is safe to use." She performs a number of tests on it, then says, "Well, it has strange magic I have never seen, but it doesn't seem to be active or against regulations. For now, it's just decoration. But, this broom is.. well.. I've never seen anything like it, even the wood it's made from. It is indeed strange. I'll have to see you fly with it, but only with my supervision. I don't know much about it. Understand?"

Dante nods.

"Alright everyone, let's try to make your brooms come to your hand. You just have to say 'up'."

{Few minutes later}

"That's good! Almost there, Jack. Keep at it! Nice, Sophie! Just a little more."

"Up." Juni said. The broom goes up, but doesn't quite make it to her hand. "Up!" It doesn't move by much. She looks to the left, then to the right. "... UP!" The broom went straight to her hand, which she caught immediately. She was happily relieved that it worked.

Dante calmly says "Up." and his broom flies up and hits his hand automatically, but as it was a little unexpected, he drops it.

Juni lets out a small laugh. "Silly Dante. You're supposed to grab the broom."

After she said that, Dante put a hand behind his head while giving a nervous laugh. "Yeah, but I didn't expect it to fly up so fast."

"Well, you expected it to react like how everyone else's broom is reacting." says Professor Potter. "This is your broom, so it will respond more to you."

"Yeah it hit my hand. I thought it was going to come up and let me catch it."

"It really reacted to you." she says. After Juni gave a small giggle, Professor Potter said, "Hmm, it was obviously meant for you."

Juni laughed, saying, "Mine's just like me.. strong willed, at times!" which made Dante laugh.

"Hahaha, I noticed that." Professor Potter replied.

{Few minutes later}

"Alright, now that everyone has made their broom come to their hand, let's see if one of you can fly. Mr. Dante?"

Dante thinks, _Aww, man. Why me?_

Juni gave a friendly smile. "Good luck, Dante!"

"Thanks." Dante says and walks up in front of Professor Potter.

"Now, hold out your broom and get on it like so." she says then proceeds to show him. "Now, lift up into the air."

Dante slowly lifts off the ground, and even goes a bit higher.

"You're doing good, Mr. Dante. Now, try moving forward."

He moves forward a bit then suddenly, with one loud noise, he vanished.

"What the.. ?" says Professor Potter.

"WHERE HE GO?" Juni said out of shock.

Professor Potter gets on her broom and tells everyone to stay on the ground, then flies off after Dante. She flies at her fastest and eventually saw Dante waving at her. She saw that Dante had stopped just before he would have collided with her. "Wow, I've never seen anyone fly like that! What is that broom made of?" she said after a moment of shock. "It reacts to you so well that a normal broom would've crashed right into me. You almost made me fall off my broom! Hahaha!"

"Sorry about that, professor. I honestly didn't know how to stop until the last second." Dante replied.

"It's ok." she says.

"Wow, this is fun! Is it always like this?" Dante said.

"Umm, no." Professor Potter replied with a short laugh. "You need to slow your roll a bit, hot shot. We don't want any crashes. But, I have to say we will need you to talk to someone after the class."

"Okay, professor." Dante replied as they flew back.

They both flew slowly, in case his broom decided to take off like that, again. They were soon back on the ground in front of the class.

Juni thinks, _Okay, it is official... Dante has made me jealous.. over a BROOM! However.. I WANNA FLY, I WANNA FLY!_ while her face wore a happy smile.

Professor Potter looked back at the rest of the class. "Now, you are next, Miss Svendrir."

Juni laughs as she says, "Finally!" and runs over to the designated area. Juni couldn't help but wonder if her broom would do something awesome, too.

"That was AWESOME!" says Jack. "Man, what kind of broom is that? Where can I get one?"

"I don't know. I think it's one of a kind." says Aria. "That's what the professor said, anyway."

"True. That's true." Jack said while thinking, _AWW! I WANT ONE SOOO BADLY!_

Dante laughs.

Juni is still eager to fly. "Okay, professor! What do I do now?"

"Alright, get on it like this." Professor Potter says as she shows her the proper way to sit on the broom.

Juni learns it quickly. "Okay! Now what?"

"Lift up into the air."

Juni lifts up without incident.

"Now, fly forward then turn around and come back."

The moment Juni flies forward, she literally vanishes as if she teleported.

The class is shocked, especially Professor Potter. "What happened?" she asked right before an answer popped in her mind. _..Aww, not again! Here we go, again..._ she thought as she flew. She, at one point, passes Juni.

Juni shouts, "HEYYY, PROFESSOR,WHERE YOU GOING? IS CLASS OVER ALREADY?"

Professor Potter stops and looks behind her. "How did you.. ?"

Juni says, "I don't know how I did it. I just went forward." then starts flying a bit more, but soon reappears somewhere else.

"This has been one crazy day." Professor Potter said. "It's amazing." she says. "It's like you just teleported or just moved from one place to another in an instant. Well, for now, let's land. The other students need to take their turns before class ends."

"Okay! By the way, sorry if I flew too far." Juni replied as they went back to the rest of the class.

"It's okay, Juni." she says. They soon make it back. "Now, which student is next?"

The students, one by one, take their turns and practices it without incident. As they were about to leave, she calls both Dante and Juni back. "I need you both to go to this room and meet with this person today."

"Okay, professor." Dante says as he looks at the piece of paper as the professor walks off towards the school.

"Umm.. are we in trouble, Dante?" Juni asked with a look of uncertainty.

"I don't think so..." he replies.

As they turn around, Jack is mounting his broom as Eva says, "I don't think that's a good idea, Jack."

"No, it's cool. I did fine, earlier." Jack said. He lifts up into the air then his broom suddenly starts bucking like a horse.

"Jack, come down from there!" says Eva.

"I can't." he says as he flies higher and higher.

"Umm, Dante... Does his broom think it's a horse or something?" Juni asks as she notices the sight near them.

"I don't know, Juni." Dante replied.

Eva shouts, "Jack, come down before you get hurt!"

"No, I can do it!" Jack says as it goes higher and higher.

It bucks extra hard one more time, causing Jack to fall off his broom.

Before Juni could react, Dante jumps on his broom and catches Jack right before he hits the ground.

Juni is surprised by how quickly Dante reacted.

After they land, Jack is breathing hard while he bends over, placing his hands on his knees. "I thought.. I was.. gonna die..."

Juni ran over to them. "Hey, you okay, Jack?" she said, concerned.

He stands up, feeling a little shaken. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Eva walks over with a worried look on her face. "You could've gotten badly hurt."

"I'm sorry... I just thought I could do it..."

Dante says, "From now on, only practice when the professor is around. Just until we get it down."

"Okay, my bad..." Jack replies.

"Now, let's have dinner." Dante said then started to head off for the great hall.

Juni ran after him. "Hey, wait up!" she said as the rest followed them. Dante takes his broom and puts it in his bag.

"Wow, your bag has that kind of magic? It's hard to get it compressed inside such a small bag." Eva said.

"That's not easy." says Aria. "Where did you get it?"

"It was left to me. I don't really know much besides the fact that it was one of the items from my vault."

Juni whispers to Dante, "Umm, Dante? You were awesome. Simple as that."

As soon as he looked back at her, Juni was smiling away with her eyes closed for a moment, obviously from another thought. He looked back ahead, trying not to get a big grin on his face. He couldn't quite figure out why he felt the need to impress her. _She is my friend, so why do I feel the need to impress her more?_

"Yeah, that's crazy. Who would give you all that stuff?" Jack said.

Dante quickly got himself out of his thoughts. "I don't know. Just someone who was looking out for me, I guess."

"That's awesome! I wish I had someone looking out for me, like that."

Eva looked at Jack. "Umm, what about your mom?"

"Oh... Yeah, right. Don't tell mom I said that." Jack said nervously.

They all shared a laugh. They walked upstairs and ate a delicious dinner. Afterwards, Dante and Juni made their way to the room that was written on the piece of paper.

(To be continued.)


	11. On Quidditch Team? & Who'd You Say?

Juni and Dante head to the room that was on the piece of paper.

"So, who you think it is we gotta talk to? Hopefully not Mr. Scaryman." Juni said with widened eyes.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's him." Dante replied as they walked into the room.

"Oh, hi." says a girl with hazel eyes and blonde hair as soon as she sees them walk into the room. "I'm Miranda. I'm captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, this year. Lady Potter wanted me to see if you had what it takes to be one of us."

Juni gave a nervous laugh. "Umm, no offense, but I don't think I'm cut out for sports..." _Especially since I'm not going to 'make the tell', so to speak..._

"Oh, okay. If you change your mind, let me know." she said before looking at Dante. "What about you, Mr. Dante? It's fun and rewarding."

Dante nods. "I suppose there's no harm in trying out."

"Hmm, okay. Well, let's see what you got." Miranda said then shows him the different types of balls and how to use them. "Lady Potter told me you are really fast. I want to see that, but for now, I just need to know what position you'd be best at." She has Dante try all of them except the snitch. "Nice, Dante. You would do pretty well at all of them. Now this is the golden snitch. I want you to catch it."

He watched it for a moment after it was released, then reached out his hand, grabbing it.

Miranda was surprised. "Impressive. Well, if you can see it that well, you have what it takes. I still want to see you fly, but as far as I'm concerned, you are on the team, if you're interested. If so, then welcome to the team, Dante."

"I'll consider it, and thanks." he replied.

"You're welcome." she says before telling him when training will be.

Dante and Juni head off to the common room for a bit.

Once they got inside the common room, Juni was surprised. "Wow! So, THIS is what it looks like... You are lucky!" she said with a smile.

Dante laughed. "You are the lucky one. That place you have looks like it'd be awesome." he replied as he puts out a bowl of vanilla pudding for Shaiya.

Shaiya is shocked. She then point to herself. "Mine? It's for me?"

Juni remembered something as Dante nodded at Shaiya. "Oh, Dante, I got something for you." she said then pulled out a book from her bag. "TADA! I figured for when you went to make your own, you should know the fundamentals of them, different models of them and other things. That way, when you get to making yours, you'll be able to craft it how you want. I got another copy, so you can have this one." she said then looked at him. "Umm, you do still wanna make an ocarina, right?"

"Yeah. Hopefully, you can teach me someday, when I make mine." he replied with a smile.

She happily smiled back.

Shaiya walks flies up to a stack of books right above the bowl. Dante and Juni both notice her. Before they could say anything, she dives right into the pudding. Fortunately, it doesn't go everywhere. She sinks down inside the bowl.

They soon hear a heavy sucking sound and see the pudding go down in the bowl. They couldn't help but laugh.

"Finally, we can see her again." Dante says before they both laugh again.

Shaiya spreads her arms and legs and begins making a pudding angel. This made Juni laugh harder.

To Dante, hearing Juni laugh was pleasant.

Shaiya licks the bowl and finally crashes from the sugar rush.

A student walks up to them, saying, "Hagrid is looking for you, Juni. He's outside the common room." before going over to her bed.

"Well, good night, Juni. I need to give Shaiya a quick bath before I head off to sleep." Dante said.

"Night, Dante!" she replied with a smile. She walks over to the door, pausing a moment before going out the door to meet up with Hagrid.

Dante followed her to the door.

As the painting of the fat lady opens, Juni sees Hagrid asking the fat lady how she's doing.

"I'm doing quite well. Thank you for asking. It looks to be another promising year of fine Gryffindors." the lady replied.

"Hi, Hagrid."

Hagrid looks at her as they came out. "Hello, Juni, Dante. How are you? Have a good first day?" he asked.

"It was fun." Dante answered.

"Yes, it was!" Juni said.

"Heard about your broom ride." he said before laughing. "Impressive stuff."

Juni gave a nervous laugh.

"Glad to hear that you caught interest of the Quidditch team, Dante. Impressive stuff from you too, Juni. Dante, are you joining the team?"

Dante slightly tilted his head. "I honestly don't know…"

"What things?" she asked in response after Dante's reply.

"Well, we best be off." Hagrid says and leads Juni to her house and Dante heads to the bathroom after saying their goodnights. "Well, I heard you just up and disappeared on yer broom. Just poofed, ye did."

"Oh, that's nothing compared to Dante's. He went fast on what looked like a supersonic level! 'BKOOM', it went!" she said then laughed.

"Like a superhero?" he asked then laughed heartily. "Then, you poofed like that one device. What was its name?"

"A teleporter?" she replied then laughed.

"Oh, right. I hear Suzuki talk about all of that stuff sometimes. So do the kids. Hahaha!" he said. After a moment, he says, "Well, it was very awesome, from what I heard." he says. "In our world, that's truly impressive. I can't wait to see what kind of witches and wizards you will become. I've been around awhile. I can tell you both have a long way to go and a lot to learn."

"I.. guess so."

As they arrived at her house, Hagrid spoke with a thoughtful expression. "Harry was an impressive wizard. Hermione was bright as a fiddle, I tell you. Well, you just keep at it and you will be a fine wizard too." he said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, Juni. Alright, here we are. Good night, Juni." he says after checking around the house.

"Umm, Hagrid?"

"Yea?"

"Do you know what's going on? I remember noticing the look on my father's face. When he spoke to you in Diagon Alley..he looked ready for something megahuge... I never saw that before from him..." she said with a worried expression.

"I can't tell you, Juni. I really can't. It's for the best, for now. When you need to know, you will. For now, that's between your father, Headmistress Mcgonagall, and Cyrus Kaine."

Juni looked confused. "Who'd you say?"

"Oh, I said too much. Me and my big mouth. I would say forget that, but I know you young ones too well. You won't get anymore out of me. Nope. No, ma'am."

"Darnit." she says. _Haha, got you to spill something!_

"Well, it's time to hit the old dusty trail." Hagrid said with a yawn.

"Okay, night Hagrid."

"Night, Juni." he says then walks out, heading towards his hut.

{Meanwhile}

Dante takes Shaiya into the bathroom and washes her up real good and lets her change her clothes before they head to bed.

"Night, Shaiya."

"Night, Dante." she said with a tiny smile on her face.

As the other students fell asleep, Juni plays a lullaby on her ocarina before she went to bed. As she played, everyone else that was still awake somehow hears the music and feels calm while hearing it.

Dante falls asleep listening to her music, wondering how its sounds were able to reach them, at all...

(To be continued.)


	12. Intro to Herbology & Charms

"Look at all the variety of plants here." Dante says. "I bet some of these are dangerous."

They walk into Professor Longbottom's "Herbology Paradise".

"Everything you will be needing for your classes this year can be found here... Well, almost all..." Professor Longbottom says. "Today, I'll just go over all of the coursework for the year and all of the materials needed. Mind you if you aren't careful, you could end up with a serious injury or even death like with most other classes here, so be careful. Now, herbology is great. Really, it is my favorite subject in school by far. Hopefully, you gain a passion for it as well. Now, let's begin."

"Okay, let's have fun with plants. Yay!" Juni said with enthusiasm.

 _That enthusiasm of hers never goes away, does it?_ Dante thought with a small smile.

Professor Longbottom resumed speaking. "Alright we'll be learning spells in this class, along with the names of plants; their magical properties; and how to care for them. We will also be learning the fire charm, known as 'Incendio', to catch things on fire, and the severing charm, 'Diffindo'. We will use that to precisely cut things. The severing charm was created in the fifteenth century by wizarding seamstress, Delfina Crimp, who created it as an easy and convenient way of cutting cloth and thread, but it is a dangerous spell. With the slightest error you can cause injury or death, so be cautious."

Juni thinks sarcastically, _Yaaay, a spell that can kill you..._ as she tried to hide what she was really feeling about it.

"We can use this spell to cut things more easily. We will also be learning the wand-lighting charm, aka 'Lumos'. 'Lumos', 'Lumos Solem', and 'Lumos Duo' each have their different uses." Professor Longbottom said. "We will learn about many different plants, some of which are Venomous Tentacula; Spiky Bush; Bouncing Bulb; Puffapods; Moly; Asphodel; Dried Nettles; Dittany; Wormwood; Mandrake Root; Aconite; Devil's Snare; Bowtruckles and how defeat them using Severing Charm; Fluxweed; Leaping Toadstools and Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Make sure to bring your books and materials, which include 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore and Dragon Dung, which is used as fertiliser. It's also Professor Sprout's fertiliser of preference. Dragon dung compost, which used for planting; Dragon-hide gloves, which are worn when handling dangerous plants; Earmuffs, which are worn by students and the professor when repotting Mandrakes, so they could not harm anyone with their sound; Mooncalf dung, used as fertiliser, it makes magical plants grow well; Wand - to cast Herbology-related spells, such as 'Diffindo' or 'Incendio'. Plants can be fun and helpful. They deserve to be treated with care. One day, Herbology just might save your life, so please take this class seriously. One mistake is all it takes. Let's have fun." he says and goes into a little more detail on what the class is about and what he plans to do in the future. "Now, have a look around and be mindful of the signs."

After a while, as the other students are looking around, Juni gets so distracted by some flowers that she doesn't see the sign nearby.

Professor Longbottom whispers, "Juni, don't make any sudden movements or loud sounds, and walk slowly towards me."

"But why? They're soo pretty." Juni says as she reaches her right hand out to touch the flower.

"No, Juni! Stop!" he shouts.

Dante hears him shout and turns to face him. He sees her about to touch the plants behind the signs that say, "Dangerous!"

Juni touches the plant, but nothing happens. "Hehe, it's so soft!" she said with a giggle.

Professor Longbottom is shocked by what he sees. "It's not attacking you... None of them are... The poison isn't... Hmmmm... Strange... Some of those plants are toxic and it should have affected you by now... You must be very attuned to nature. Maybe you have an immunity to the toxins and poisons of the plants... Hmmmmm... Still, it's strange that none of them attacked you." he says with a thoughtful expression after he recovers from shock.

"You really think so?" Juni asked. _Just like mother and father?_

"Yea, I've never seen anything like it." He puts his hand behind his head. "It's definitely unique."

Juni smiled, feeling proud of having an ability in common with her parents. _I wonder what other abilities I have in common with them..._

"I look forward to teaching you about Herbology. Well, I do all for of my students, but maybe you have an affinity for it."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I believe you do." he said after nodding his head.

"That's great, Juni." Dante said.

"Thanks. Still, I'm shocked they're supposed to be poisonous because they look so friendly." she said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, I'll admit that I've have rarely seen them not attack anyone who walks inside the area." Professor Longbottom stated. "That makes you special. You must be attuned to nature, and that is a very rare thing."

The bell rings, signalling that it's time to move on to the next class.

"Aww, next class, already?" Juni asked.

"Well, next class, we will begin learning more about Herbology as well as a spell: the wand lighting spell called 'Lumos'. Have fun with the rest of your school day." he says as Dante and Juni leave.

Before going, Juni hands Professor Longbottom a seed. "Before I came here, someone claiming to be an old friend of yours said to give that to you and that you'd enjoy seeing what it'd become." She sees Dante still walking off. "Ay, wait up!" she said as she ran toward him.

"Thanks." says Professor Longbottom as he looks at it. _An old friend of mine? As far as I know, I don't remember a friend that knew plants well enough to give me a seed I know nothing about..._

{Meanwhile}

Juni catches up with Dante. Eventually, they reach the next classroom.

"Classroom 4F. This is the place." Dante says as they walk in and take their seats.

After everyone walks in and takes their seats, the bell rings. Suddenly, a strange shape comes out of the blackboard and says, while facing the blackboard, "Welcome to Hogwarts. Today is your first class. It will be a summary of what you will learn this year. If you have a question, raise your hand." he says this all in a droll sleepy tone.

We hear the door behind us open and Jack sneaking in. He makes his way to his seat and Eva rolls her eyes at him. On the way to the seat, Professor Binns turns around and Jack freezes.

"Gargoyle Strike of 1911; Soap Blizzard of 1378; Werewolf Code of Conduct; Emeric the Evil; Uric the Oddball; Gaspard Shingleton; Elfric the Eager; Medieval Assembly of European Wizards; International Warlock Convention of 1289." he points at the blackboard and says, "These are the subjects you will be expected to learn this year."

Jack breathes deep and sits in his chair. "I thought I was dead. Peeves... I swear he has a thing for me. He just keeps messin with me."

"More likely you keep antagonizing him." says Eva.

"Well he started it."

"Yea, but you could've just let it be." she says.

"Yea, and let him get the last laugh? NEVER!"

Juni quietly whispers to Dante, "Coming to you this Fall, it's 'Jack and the Peeves'!" and tries not to laugh.

Dante leans over and pulls off a sign taped to Jack's back. "Punch me." it said. Dante turns to you and laughs silently.

Professor Binns is still going on with the lesson. "We will go over these topics throughout the year..." he says then goes on for awhile about wars and general history stuff making everyone wonder how he can take something interesting and make it so boring.

They all seem to be falling asleep, as Dante had noticed, then the bell rang.

"WHA..." says Jack. "..No, mom! I want the cake! I'll be good, I swear!" then falls out of his chair.

Juni laughed so hard at the sudden outburst that she almost fell out of the chair. Eva looks at him, then burst into laughter. Dante laughs, as well, then reaches down and helps Jack up.

"Thanks." Jack said to Dante.

"You're welcome." Dante replied.

Juni looks at Jack. "Jack, you said the random lines of the day!" she said before laughing again.

Eva looks at him. "Now, I'm sure we can get cake, but it won't be your mom's."

After Jack looks at Eva, he laughs, too. During this time, Juni slips some candy into Jack's pocket without him noticing.

 _And he'll wonder how..._ she thought, barely able to keep herself from laughing, once again.

Jack makes a serious face. "I don't care what you think. Mummy's cupcakes are the best!" he says.

Juni laughs, then convincingly acts like she just saw that something was in his pocket. "Ay, Jack, is there something in your pocket?"

"No, I don't thin... Wha? How did that get in there?" he asks.

Dante looks over at Juni and grins. Juni gives Dante a nervous smile.

Just then, Jack pulls out some candy. "WOW! OMG, OMG! My coat is magic! Seriously, it came from nowhere!"

Juni laughs to herself. _This is even better!_

 _I want chocolate!_ he thinks and reaches into his pocket. "Okay, so it doesn't always work, but hey it gives all of this other candy!" he says before looking around. "AWESOME!"

None of them knew at the time, but, for the next week, Jack would reach into his pocket to see what he'd get. They would all have a laugh because it wasn't what he wanted.

"Well, let's go eat. This is making me hungry." Dante finally says.

"Okay!" Juni said.

They all go down the stairs laughing. Shaiya eyes the candy ravenously. Just as Juni and Dante notice, she tries to steal the bit of candy Jack had pulled out of his pocket.

Jack starts to panic because he didn't notice her until she went to steal his candy. "Noooo! Get her off meeeee!" he shouts as she's hovering above him while holding her "prize".

"My precious." she says and flies to Dante's shoulder, nibbling on the candy timidly, like a chipmunk.

Juni is so shocked she blurts out, "Shaiya, you know you could've asked if he'd share! After all, I thought house fairies were mannerful!" As soon as she realized what she said, she knew it was too late because Shaiya was looking at her.

"How do you know about that?" she asks, then flies in front of Jack and says, "Thank you for the meal." with an embarrassed look on her face.

"You're welcome." Jack replies.

"Now..." Shaiya said, looking at Juni. "How do you know how house fairies are supposed to be?" she asks.

"Umm... I read it in a book father had when I was younger." Juni quickly answered. "Now.. off to lunch!" she says then starts running toward the great hall.

Shaiya obviously didn't suspect Juni about anything after that because she happily flew after her.

Juni thinks, _I reallllly dodged a bullet... But, I need to act like I know less than I really do, or else people could end up knowing things that they shouldn't!_

Dante follows after them. _I wonder if Juni isn't saying everything..._ Dante thinks, but decides to let it pass without him getting into it.

{Few minutes later}

Shaiya immediately spots the cheesecake and is about to dive into it.

Dante looks at her. "Shaiya." he says, causing her to freeze just before she goes to dive into the cheesecake. As she looks at him, he says, "Save me some, and by some, I mean a decent amount."

"Okay." she says. As Juni laughs, Shaiya says, "Well, I looooove my food, thank you very much." as she looked to the side.

"Hehe, who doesn't love food?" Juni replied.

Dante then looked at Juni. "Yeah, but she takes a bath in it, every day. Literally." he said then laughed.

Shaiya walks over to his plate with an armful of cheesecake and sets it down. "How's this, master? Do you want more?" she asked, which caused all three of them to laugh.

"Shaiya."

She stops again. "Yes?"

"You might want to use a spoon."

"Okay!" she said with a tiny smile on her face. She takes the spoon and puts a decent amount of cheesecake on his plate.

"Thanks, Shaiya. That's enough."

Juni remembered the book she gave Dante. "Ay, Dante. Have you started on that book, yet?"

Shaiya flies around until she lands on the edge of some bread. "YAAAAY!" she says before running off the edge and dives into the rest of the cheesecake. It goes everywhere around it.

Dante and Juni couldn't help but laugh about how hyper Shaiya was.

"I read a little, last night, after putting Shaiya to bed." Dante finally replied to Juni.

"That's good." she said with a smile.

Dante smiles back as Shaiya eats away at the remainder of the cheesecake rather loudly for a fairy.

"For a small fairy, she makes a big noise." Juni said then laughed as she pulled out a couple wrapped pieces of chocolate. She offers Dante a piece. "Here, try one."

The piece she offered him looked arctic white when it was unwrapped.

"Thank you." he said then ate it. "It tastes really great!" he said as he noticed Juni smiling at him.

While Dante laughed as he watched Shaiya, who was making cheesecake angels with the bit that remained, Juni glanced over at the teacher's table. She noticed Headmistress McGonagall, who was looking at her for a brief second before looking at another teacher. _Just what are they hiding from me? I know they are, thanks to Hagrid spilling what little bit he had._

{A short while later after lunch; Near Classroom 2E}

"Time for charms." Dante says.

"I think that class'll be fun, hehe!" Juni said as she tried to hide what was on her mind.

Dante nodded. "Yeah, I hope so."

Shaiya was cleaned up a few minutes before they made their way to the classroom.

"Good you're here." says an Asian woman. She had black hair, hazel eyes, and skin the color of ivory cream. "Hello, class. I'm Professor Swansong, and I'll be your Charms professor. Now, who's ready to learn some magic?"

Juni eagerly raised her hand. "I AM!"

"Today, we will learn three spells. Normally we wait to teach you magic, but I feel its best to let you know first hand and not waste time." She points to a board and the words appear. "These are the normal years that students learn this magic but you will be learning them all this year. First years normally learn the Levitation Charm; Wand-Lighting Charm; Lumos Solem; Fire-Making Spell; Softening Charm; Severing Charm; Unlocking Charm; Locking Spell; Mending Charm and the examination is to make a pineapple dance across a desk. Second years normally learn the Skurge Charm; Disarming Charm; Arresto Momentum; Avifors; a revision of the Dancing Feet Spell; Engorgement Charm; Freezing Charm; General Counter-Spell; Memory Charm; Tickling Charm; a revision of the Fire-Making Spell; a revision of the Levitation Charm; a revision of the Wand-Lighting Charm, as well as revision of the Severing Charm and the Unlocking Charm. Today, however, I will be teaching you the wand-lighting charm, the fire-making spell, and the levitation spell." she said before looking around to make sure the students were still paying attention. Then, she resumed. "Alright, to perform the wand lighting charm, do the following." She starts makes a loop and comes back around ending it while saying the word "Lumos". The tip of her wand lights up.

Juni's expression had shown that she was clearly interested in learning from this class.

"Just follow this hand movement and say the word 'Lumos'. It's pronounced 'LOO-mos'."

Dante tries the hand motion a few times and then says the word and the tip of his wand lights up bright.

Juni tries, getting it on the first try. She is obviously pleased with the results. Strangely, Dante's wasn't as bright as any of the others. It was barely noticeable.

"Good work, everyone. Excellent work."

"Oh, boy! If only we had a tree then we'd have the perfect Christmas lights!" she said with a grin on her face.

Dante laughed, along with a couple other students in the room. Even though she said nothing, Professor Swansong found the comment to be funny, as well.

"Now, let's try something a little more dangerous, but be very careful. I don't want anyone getting hurt. Everyone, stand and make sure each of you has enough space... Actually, I have a better idea." Professor Swansong says then conjures a dummy for them to practice on. "Now, make a line, and we'll begin learning the fire-making charm." After the students line up, she speaks again. "Alright. Now, to learn the fire-making charm, you do this hand motion and say 'Incendio', like so." She then aims her wand at the training dummy. "Incendio." she says, and flames shoot out from her wand, hitting the dummy. "This spell will be useful in Herbology, as well. Now, do this hand movement and pronounce it 'in-SEN-dee-o'." she says then proceeds to show the students the hand movements needed to perform the charm.

A number of the students do it, while some had shown signs of needing more practice.

Juni does the hand motion. "Incendio." The flames she made become golden, unlike a normal flame. She became worried. "Umm.. did I mess up?"

"No, Juni." she says. "Very impressive. Sometimes, your magical nature comes through and affects it without you trying to."

Jack comes up and does the hand movements and says, "INCENDIO!" enthusiastically. A pink flame shoots out.

Juni couldn't help but laugh to herself. "It's so pretty, Jack!"

"Aww, it's cute." says Eva before she starts giggling uncontrollably. Eva pulls out her wand and casts Incendio. A red flame comes out from her wand and hits the dummy, which didn't help Jack get over the fact his wand shot out a pink flame.

"Really? REALLY? Professor, I think ours got switched, somehow..."

Some of the students laughed.

Nicholai walks up and pulls out his wand.

"Alright, lets see what you have." says Professor Swansong.

As he casts Incendio, a green flame emanates from his wand.

"Hah, a true Slytherin." says some of the girls.

As he turns to get out of the line, Nicholai looks Dante in the eye for a brief moment.

"What is that guy's deal?" Dante asks under his breath. _I get an unsettling feeling from him.. but why?_

Jack heard him. "I don't know... Maybe he is jealous of your haircut or something." says Jack before adding, "It's not like I am..."

"Uh huh." says Eva before laughing.

Dante pulls out his black wand and points it at the training dummy. Juni couldn't help but admire the wand's craftsmanship.

Dante breathes for a second, then says, "Incendio." while doing the hand movements. His wand draws out the shape of a flame and, as his finishes it, a thin black flame shoots out, hitting the training dummy

burning it and it falls to the ground just like with the others.

The professor casts a spell to return it to normal, but the stone floor and wooden training dummy continue to burn. She quickly casts another spell and it finally goes out.

The students were shocked at what they saw. Nicholai didn't show it on his face, but even he was not expecting that to happen.

"Strange..." the professor quietly says.

"His flame wasn't very big." says one of the Slytherin students.

"Yea, but it wouldn't stop burning..." says another.

Professor Swansong says to Dante, "Well, if that is your basic magic, you will have to learn normal flames or learn the spell to counter that flame. Otherwise, it won't go out until whatever it has burned is burnt out. For now, only practice that spell in my presence, okay?"

"Umm, okay." Dante replies.

Juni had only one train of thought on her mind as she heard this. _Is she serious? He could be a major buttwhipper with that! Wait and see, people!_

The rest of the class finishes up and then the professor continued the lesson.

"Good job, everyone. Now, we just need to learn the last spell, which is the levitating charm." She shows them the hand motion. "Swish and flick. Then, say the words 'Wingardium Leviosa'." She performs the spell. The feather on her book lifts up and into the air. "Now, each of you have a feather on your desk. Now, try to lift the feather up."

Dante does the hand motions that she showed them, and then practices the words she says to make sure he's doing it right.

Some of the students, including Dante and Juni turn and look as Jack says, "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" With a loud crack, Jack's feather explodes. The students are surprised that a feather could even explode. Soot covers Jack's face and he says, "Man, not again..." with an annoyed tone.

Juni tries not to laugh, but Eva couldn't help herself once she saw his face covered in soot.

Jack felt embarrassed. "Not funny..." he said.

Juni looked at him. "You gotta admit it was a bit funny." she said with a smile.

Jack thought about it. "Yea, I guess it was." he replied then laughed.

"Look. Do it like this." Eva says and shows him how to do it. They practice together.

Juni looks at the feather. _Swish and flick..._ she thought as she made the hand motions. "Wingardium Leviosa." Her feather rises, but soon starts turning different colors as she moved it around her desk.

The professor looked at the feather, then noticed who was doing that. "That's impressive, Juni. You need to control it, though. But, that will come with time. This shows you certainly have strong magic."

Juni looks at the professor. "Strong how?" _Crap, I don't know why it's doing this! Well, 'Inner Nature', you just gotta show off, don't you? Keep restraint, or else I'll be found out!_

A number of students makes theirs work.

Dante chooses not to do his, just yet. He just thinks on the process and watches to see what works from the others first. He does the hand movements and says, "Wingardium Leviosa". The feather lifts up into the air quite fluidly. He moves it around the room before landing it on his book, just as it started.

"Nice job, Dante." Professor Swansong says. "You control it quite well." After the other students are finished with their attempts, she says, "Well, that's all there is for the class today. We will learn other spells and go through exercises to train ourselves to use them better. Just learning a spell is the first step. One day, you will master all of these spells, or at least attempt to. Great job guys!" she says and gives a thumbs up. She then pulls out something similar to an iPod and starts watching anime while she waits for the class to end.

"I like her." Dante says to Juni. "She's fun."

"Exactly what I thought!" Juni replied with a small laugh.

They practice their spells for a while until the bell rings.

"I guess it's time for Magical Theory." Dante said.

Juni looked slightly pouty. "Awww, I sense no fun from that class!"

Dante laughed. "Well, we have to go anyway."

Juni thought about it, then says, "Well, better than having to deal with Mr. Scaryman."

"Yeah, hopefully."

With that, they made their way to their next class.

(To be continued.)


	13. Magical Theory & Something Hidden

"That was fun." Dante says as they make their way to Magical Theory.

"It was megafun! Hehe!" Juni replied.

They walk into the classroom and see the teacher shooting at a practice dummy with a spell. Juni is immediately nervous.

"Expelliarmus." the professor says and hits the fake wand from the dummy's hand.

Juni is still nervous as she and Dante take their seats. Then, the bell rings.

"Alright, everyone." the professor says. "Let's begin. Welcome to Magical Theory." She turns her back and then talks for a moment. "This class is about how spells; how magic works and where it comes from." she says the last part as a spell flies from her wand's tip and hits the door beside Jack as he tries to sneak in.

As Jack jumped as a result of being startled, Juni looked even more nervous.

 _Uh-oh.. he in trouble, now..._ she thought to herself.

The professor, without looking at Jack, says, "You're late. Detention with me after class lets out. You can help me order and stack all of these books of mine."

He turns and sees the books in the room. "There's so many!" he says.

"Yes, I love to read. And, you will help me sort and put them in their proper places on the shelves after class."

"There has to be like a thousand books!"

"Well, you best not dilly dally then during your detention and make sure you are on time to my class. Otherwise, you will have to go through something much worse. Now, take your seat."

Jack couldn't do anything else, other than say, "Yes, professor." and take his seat next to Eva.

"Quit being late, Jack." Eva whispered.

"I can't help it. Peeves won't leave me alone, but I'm working on a plan." he says and rubs his hands together.

"Yeah, that doesn't look evil at all..."

"Oh, hush."

 _It can only end in disaster..._ Juni thought without laughing, even though she wanted to.

"Alright, class. Let's get started. My name is Akira Shacklebolt, and I'll be your magical theory professor, this year. Like I said earlier, magical theory is a class where we learn about magic, not spells, but how magic actually works. This class is an important one. Anyone can cast a spell, but to know how it works goes beyond that. This class will let you harness your full potential. We won't be using spells in this class as much as studying how a spell works and where this magic comes from, the full process. You learned about Incendio, a basic bit on how it works and how to do it, in charms class. Well, this class is paperwork and theory about how it works. This class is important for the more dangerous spells. You can't go casting a dangerous spell if you don't know how it works. We have our own pools of magic within us and there is magic in the world naturally. Magic can be stored in items and artifacts. Our connections to this magic can be compared to a faucet. Some have a slower flow, while others have a more intense flow. Some have deep reservoirs and others have shallow ones. A shallow reservoir, so to speak, with a slow flow makes it last longer than a larger flow. It's like a one shot. Some have large quantities of magic and a slow flow. This is what some witches and wizards have, while others have the large quantity and heavy flow."

Juni thinks of a random tune. However, she doesn't dance to it or sing the tune because she knew it'd get her into trouble.

The professor was still talking. "Remember power doesn't always win. The outcome will be influenced by who used their magic to the best of their abilities. Just because you are a well of magic doesn't mean someone with weaker magic isn't capable of winning. Then there is magic in the natural world. Some that have weaker magic uses that type of magic over their own to compensate. Sometimes, one would use magic imbued in an artifact. For example, a muggle would be forced to use an artifact, seeing as they have zero magical potential. Well, not zero, they just don't have the ability to use magic as we do. We are able to take that magic and turn it into something. Even some plants have magical properties. We will learn about how all of this works this year, pay attention and have fun. We will study examples through the programs on the computers that give a detailed example to how it works. Fortunately, we have this technology when in the past it wasn't available. We can use 3D rendered examples to show how it all works. Don't you just love technology and magic?" she said then laughed.

 _FINALLY, SHE LAUGHED!_ Juni thought.

"There is much more to learn about magic but we have all year." the professor says then shows the class the 3D examples of how magic works with Incendio, Lumos and Wingardium Leviosa. "This is how it works, how the body pulls it from either nature or from yourself."

"Wow, this is interesting." Dante says. "It's cool to do it, and see exactly how it works. I want to learn more."

"We can learn more next time." the professor replied before the bell rang. "Well, that's all for today. See you, next time. Class dismissed."

"Okay, see you next time, professor." Dante said before leaving the room.

"See ya." Juni said to the professor before she left the room.

They walk out into the hall and overhear a couple Ravenclaw students say, "Oh, yea. She's Akira Shacklebolt, the daughter of the Minister of Magic. We don't want to be getting on her bad side."

Juni was kind of shocked to hear that, though she didn't show it.

"Yea, I know, right?" they say as they giggle and walk off.

 _She's his daughter? Wow, who would've had that as their first thought? She's our teacher, too... It'd be reasonable to think that she tells him everything she learns about this place and that she'd likely also mention about the students, including both of us._ Dante thought to himself. "She seems nice." Dante said.

"Yep. She's nice, as long as you don't make her make her mad." Juni replied with a nervous laugh.

Dante thinks about the shrunken heads on the top of the bookshelves in the classroom. He agreed with a small laugh. _I wonder what is the story with those... Well, I'm sure we'll find out, soon enough..._

"Are you enjoying this place, so far?" Juni asked.

"It's great. I'm having a lot of fun. How about you?" Dante answered.

"Same here." she said.

{After Dinner; near the great hall}

Juni looked at Shaiya and remembered something. "Oh, Shaiya. I made you something." she said as she handed her a tiny box with clothes that were Shaiya's size. "Thought you'd wanna have something to change into." she said as she smiled.

Shaiya was surprised. "Is it really mine?" After she saw Juni nodding, Shaiya happily leaves to change into them. She soon came back. "OMG, OMG, OMG! I have new clothes! YAAAAAAAAY! They're so cute, too!" she said with an excited tone, then she looked at Dante. "Why didn't you get me something?" she asks as she keeps looking at him.

"Why? It's not your birthday, right?"

Shaiya turns around and pouts before Dante tapped her on the shoulder and gave her some new shoes, hair clips, and a ring that he had ordered in her size while they were in Diagon Alley. It even surprised Juni.

"When did you get those?" Juni asked out of confusion.

Dante grinned and replied, "While we were getting pizza."

Shaiya says, "Omg, no fair."

"I made your clothes, by the way. It's the first set I ever made on my own... Last time I ever made some

was when I was a little girl. Mother had to help me, back then..." Juni said.

Shaiya sniffles.

"Hey, what's wrong? Don't you like your stuff, Shaiya?" Dante asked.

Shaiya answers, "It's not that. It's that you both thought about me and I didn't get either of you anything..."

"It's okay." Juni replied while smiling.

Shaiya gets a determined look in her eyes. Dante and Juni didn't ask what it was about, though. They relaxed for the remainder of the evening until it was time to rest for the day ahead. Just like the night before, Dante could somehow hear Juni's ocarina. A thought came to him. It was one that made sense, but, at the same time, didn't.

 _Could it be.. it's enchanted? If so, then what all can it do when it's played? Come to think of it, she always keeps it with her. Could it be possible that it serves more than one purpose? If so, then just what can it do? Juni.. who and what are you? You're so kind and cheerful, yet somehow seem so distant. You somehow weren't killed by those plants when you touched them. I.. was afraid you'd get sick or worse... Wait.. I was afraid.. afraid for you... I see it, now... That's why.. I wanted to impress you more..._ he thought before he fell asleep, the hidden answer stirring dreams in his mind that he never had before: dreams that truly inspired feelings of hope.

(To be continued.)


	14. The Next Day: A Shocking Revelation

"Ohayou gozaimasu!" says Professor Suzuki "That's my way of saying 'Good morning'! To begin, I want to say that before we make any potions, I will have you collect the ingredients yourself this term. You will use it for this term and the next. There are quite a few so it will take awhile. After we have collected all of the ingredients, we will get started. In the meantime, I will explain a bit about what the potions do among other things. You will need to collect 6 snake fangs; 4 horned slugs and 2 porcupine quills to make the cure for boils potion. There are alternate ways of making this potion, but this is the one we are going with for now. I still want you to collect the ingredients for the other one as well as we will make it with the alternate method as well. You will need dried nettles; pungeous onions; flobberworm mucus; ginger root; and shrake spines for the other methods. Collect a little more than necessary because you never know if you will need more. For the memory loss potion, you will need two drops of Lethe River Water; two Valerian sprigs; two measures of Standard Ingredient; and four mistletoe berries. For the Wiggenweld potion, you will need: one pint of Horklump juice; two drops of Flobberworm Mucus; seven Chizpurfle fangs; Billywig sting slime; sprig of Mint; Boom Berry juice; One stewed Mandrake; Drops of Honeywater; Sloth brain Mucus; Moon Dew drops; Salamander blood; three Lionfish spines; Unicorn horn; and Wolfsbane."

Juni wanted to look confused, but she was more anxious to gather ingredients than to hear the rest of the lesson.

Professor Suzuki resumed. "To make the sleeping potion, which isn't to be confused with the draught of living death, whose effects are much stronger, you will need: four sprigs of Lavender; six measures of Standard Ingredient; two blobs of Flobberworm Mucus; and four Valerian sprigs."

Juni thinks, _WOW, THAT'S A LOTTA THINGS TO GET!_ as she worries about whether or not she could remember all that.

"You will need rat tails for the hair raising potion. Last but not least, is the swelling potion which will need: Puffer-fish eyes; Dried nettle; and Bat spleens."

Juni thinks, _EWWW, BAT SPLEENS! GROSS!_

"Besides that, you will learn about Aconite; Bezoars; the Draught of Living Death; and the twelve uses of Dragon's Blood. Now, keep in mind that we won't be using Dragon's Blood or making the Draught of Living Death. However, just learning by the book. Haha. Now, I want all of you to start collecting the ingredients for me. I will explain how to get them. Let's start with the cure for boils. Collect the ingredients that you can for today. You will need six snake fangs. The fangs must be from non-venomous snakes only."

Juni thinks to herself with a smile _EASY, GARTER SNAKES!_ as she kept herself from laughing.

"You will need four horned slugs."

 _Horned slugs? What are they, a tiny and slow version of Chinese Dragons? Hehe, that'd be kinda funny!_ Juni thought out of amusement.

"And lastly, you will need porcupine quills. Porcupine quills are the sharp spines revesting porcupines, defending them from predators. Porcupine quills are plentiful since the animals continually replenish them. Quills that have caused no harm are considered the best by potion-makers. These are all that you need for now. Be careful collecting." Professor Suzuki says and then dismisses the class so we can spend the remainder of the class period looking for them.

{Few minutes later; just outside of the school}

"So, snake fangs, some horned slugs, and porcupine quills..." Dante said as he read the list to where he and Juni could hear him.

Juni looked ahead, saying cheerfully, "Easy on the snake fangs! Just get them from Garter Snakes!"

"Yeah, but can we find all of that at Hogwarts?" he asked.

Juni thought for a moment. "Hmm, I don't know, but we can try. If it wasn't possible, then wouldn't he have given us portkeys to go where we needed to and to come back?"

"Yeah, that's true... Now, what should we collect first?"

An idea comes to Juni's mind. "C'MON DANTE, I GOT AN IDEA!" she said and grabbed Dante by his wrist, leading him to a series of grass covered fields on the eastern side of the school.

Dante looked at Juni as she was leading the way to where they needed to go. _She seems happy to help others and make them laugh. Other than her people back in her homeland, did anyone else ever try to do so much as make her laugh? Come to think of it, Mr. Ollivander said that she was something called a 'Highbourne'. What is a Highbourne? I wonder if they're all like her, or if each of them are different, in terms of their nature? Is she of noble or royal birth, by any chance? If I'm not mistaken, her parents did look regal in their appearances, so it would make sense if she was. Whether she is or not, I can't help but to admit she does look beautiful. I wonder if... No, I can't go thinking about that. Of course she probably would have someone back at her village. Besides, even if she didn't, I doubt she'd consider me, in that way..._

They soon arrive where Juni had thought of before. Dante notices the grass in the field is longer than right in front of the school.

Juni lets go of Dante's wrist. "I saw some animals here, a few times. Since we came here, I thought that if snakes near the school, then they'd be in fields like this. If they're here, I can lure them out so you get the fangs. Remember, Garter Snakes are commonly green."

Dante nodded. "Okay, but how are you going to draw them out?"

"Easy!" Juni said then pulled out her ocarina. She was soon playing a tune that sounded as lighthearted as fairies playing.

Just before Dante could ask how it was supposed to work, some garter snakes came slithering toward them. As she played about a couple higher notes, she hands him a small bag with a note on it. 'MUST USE BEFORE EXTRACTION!' it said. Inside the bag were small, strange smelling balls.

Curious, Dante threw a handful of the balls at the snakes. Puffs of sleeping powder explode around the snakes, causing them to fall fast asleep.

Juni stopped playing after she was sure the snakes were asleep. "Now,all we need to do is extract the fangs." she whispered to Dante as she handed him a wooden tool that looked like it was made for this purpose. "Don't worry, it works better than it looks. I used to do it a few times to help father with his research, at one point." she said as she puts her ocarina back in her pouch that she kept concealed in the front pocket of her robes and grabs the other tool. "C'mon, while they're knocked out. Hehe it's like playing dentist."

Dante smiled with amusement. He then looked at the snakes and began removing the fangs. Eventually, they had gathered enough. "Well, these should be more than enough." he said.

Juni helps out by using the tool in her hand to pry their mouths open.

After they get what they need, Dante applies some drops from the bottle Juni gave him to help them grow their fangs back. "Now, they won't be defenseless and can feed." Dante said.

"Never go unprepared." Juni replied.

"Just don't try it on us. Haha!" he answered back, making her laugh.

As she laughs, Dante senses something and turns to see a huge, black snake dart across with its fangs bared at Juni's ankle. He catches it right before it reaches her and holds it behind its head. Juni is shocked that it was even there, not to mention its size.

Juni swallowed hard. ".. Thank you, Dante..."

"You're welcome." he says, then looks at the snake. "If you try that again, it won't be as pleasant. Go somewhere else to hunt."

The snake looks at him intensely and says, "As you wish." After Dante sets him down, the snake heads in the direction of the dark forest.

Juni is shocked yet impressed. "COOL! HOW'D YOU DO THAT?" she asked abruptly.

Dante looked at her. "What? You heard the snake talk, too?" he said out of confusion.

"I heard you talking in a funny sounding language to the snake. How'd you learn it? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, hehe!"

"I.. did?"

"YEP!"

"Hmm, so I can talk to snakes? It didn't sound like I was talking in another language to me. But, now that you mention it, there are a lot of snakes here. I can try talking to them after they wake up, maybe."

Juni paused a second. "UMM... What time is it?

"We still have awhile before lunch. He let the class out early."

Juni reaches her hand out toward Dante with only her pinky extended. "I pinky promise not to tell anyone." she said with a giggle.

Dante laughed to himself. "Thank you." he said as he puts his out.

She wrapped her pinky around his, then removed her finger and turned her head toward the school with a smile. _YAY! My first pinky promise at Hogwarts! Hehe!_

"Being able to talk to snakes... I wonder if it's a good or bad thing?"

"To quote a certain singing fish, 'Don't worry.. Be happy!" she replied before laughing.

The comment was enough to make him laugh. "Besides, it can't be that bad. I'm sure I'm not the only one. There's probably lots of other wizards who can do it."

"Yep, it could very well be that way. Now, what's next?" she asked as the snakes begin waking up from their slumber and start hissing. "Umm, maybe we should start by leaving?" Juni asked nervously.

Shaiya laughs loudly. "OMG, OMG! That is sooooo funny! They're like old ladies. Gonna gum us to death?" she says then laughs so hard that Dante and Juni thought she was going to burst.

"I'd still be careful..." Juni replied.

Dante says to the snakes in the language from before, "I'm sorry to take your fangs and make you do all of this, but we needed your fangs for a potion. Your fangs will grow back."

The snakes' words sound like hisses, to Juni and Shaiya's ears, but Dante hears, "Well, you could've killed us, yet you didn't, so thanks. We are glad to have helped out." The snakes hiss goodbye and slither off.

Juni smiles. "THAT'S STILL COOL!"

"They said they're glad we didn't kill them and they're glad they could help out, then left saying goodbye. Not all snakes are bad, I guess." Dante said.

"You're just full of surprises, Dante." she said with a small smile.

"Now, we need to find some horned slugs."

"NOW OFF TO GET THE NEXT ITEM! Or, should we explore the place, first?" After Dante didn't answer, she waved a hand in front of his face, then pointed at a nearby tree. "LET'S CLIMB UP THERE!" she said then ran toward it. She soon had climbed to the top of the very tall tree near Hogwarts.

Dante climbs up with her. They reach the top and look over toward the school.

"OMG, THEY LOOK LIKE ANTS!" Juni said before laughing.

They head back down and go to find the slugs.

"Hmm, where would slugs be? Near water?" Dante said.

"I think so."

"Well, let's catch some."

"Fine with me. Sooner we get them, the better!"

They head off to the lake near the forest and look around.

{One hour later}

After they caught some horned slugs, Hagrid happens to be walking nearby. He sees them and walks over. "Hello Juni and Dante. What are you both doing way over here?"

"We're catching tiny Chinese Dragons!" Juni replied.

"HAHA! I guess horned slugs can look that way. But, why do you need them?"

"For potions class." Dante replied.

Hagrid looked around. "So, he's slacking off, is he? .. Hmm... Well, I can see why he'd make you all do it yourselves. One day, you're gonna have to."

"Well, 'bibbity bobbity boo' to that." Juni said, causing Hagrid to laugh and Dante to smile out of amusement.

"Well, it's almost lunchtime." Hagrid stated.

"Aww, already?" Juni says, then points at Hagrid's leg. "Umm, what's that at the bottom of your leg?"

"I don't know what you mean." he says then looks down.

Dante notices and says, "That's the final ingredient that we need, and plenty of it."

Juni laughs. "Did the porcupines form an angry mob or something?"

"Erhm, no. I might've bumped into a few without noticing." Hagrid replied. "Walking through the bushes, you can't always see all the little ones. They gotta protect themselves, you know. If you want to take the quills, then go right ahead, you two." He then tells them a few things about collecting ingredients from the forest. "Now, that should help you both out. Wow, it's getting late. Let's head in for lunch." He says then starts to walk back toward the school.

"Hagrid?"

"Yes, Dante?"

"Are.. there wizards who can talk to animals?"

"Well.. yes, I suppose. What kind of animals do you mean?" Hagrid asks.

"Well say a bird or cat, for example... Or maybe snakes?"

"Hmm... Well, yes, but it's a rare thing for one to be able to talk to snakes. Parseltongue, it's called."

Juni looked at Hagrid. "QUESTION! Is it a good thing to have that kinda ability? Because I think, in a way, it'd be kinda cool."

Dante took a deep breath. "If someone can do that, is it a bad thing?"

To both of them, he said, "No, it's not a bad thing. You can know how to use an unforgivable curse. However, in the wizarding world as well as the muggle world, it's how you use it, I think, although there were never that many parseltongues..." Hagrid then paused a moment. "I think most of them were Slytherin students... Why do you ask?" he says and stops to look at them.

Juni laughed nervously, but was determined to keep her promise to Dante.

Dante looked around before saying to Hagrid, "Promise me you won't tell anyone, Hagrid."

"Well, I don't know about that, Dante, but I'll try."

"Okay, well... I can talk.. to snakes..." Dante said after a moment of silence.

Hagrid was surprised. "That's... Wow, Dante... Strange indeed... Well, seems you are full of surprises."

"Is it a bad thing?"

"Hmm.. I don't think it's bad. I just don't know what it means."

Juni joined in by saying, "That's what I said. He used it to save me from being bit by a huuuge snake. He even sensed it and caught it before it could hurt me. It was SO COOL!"

"Hmm, you sensed it, Dante?" Hagrid asked.

"Yeah." Dante replied.

"Do you sense things a lot?"

"Umm, yeah, I guess."

"I see..." Hagrid says. "Maybe we should have the new head nurse check you out. A full check up, so to speak."

Dante and Juni both had nervous expressions.

Hagrid looked at them. "It's okay, you two. I'm sure it's nothing to worry your heads over, But I'm sure McGonagall would want to know about all of this. I have to tell her, but she won't make it all a big scene. You won't have to worry about that."

"Okay, Hagrid. If you think it's best."

Suddenly, Juni hugs Dante. "Again, thanks, Dante! I knew we were meant to be friends! Yay for friends that look out for each other, hehe!" she said, blissfully unaware of the fact that her hugging him was causing him to feel slightly nervous.

Dante smiled while thinking, _Juni doesn't seem to care about the fact that I can talk to snakes. Still... Even though I like her, I want to see how she feels about me. I just don't know how to ask her... Maybe I'll find out how she feels before I know how to ask her? Still, I don't see her possibly being available, as kind and beautiful as she is... Wait, what if she does feel the same way? Could that be why she's being so nice to me? Either way, I'll find out.. someday..._

Hagrid laughs and then they head up to the school.

{Few minutes later; past the Great Hall}

"Wait.. where we going, Hagrid?" Juni asked.

"Well.. we need to talk to the headmistress."

"Nuuu, we're in trouble. I knew it!" she said with a worried look on her face.

"Well, let's just see what she has to say. There's probably no reason to worry, Miss Svendrir. We will protect you. Even from yourselves, if need be."

"From what are you trying to protect me, though?"

".. Err, that is something for another time, Juni. For now, we have to get a full checkup on Dante. It might be better finding things out now instead of finding out later."

Juni thinks, _You know I'll find out one way or another, Hagrid... What mother and father failed to realize is that I'm super sneaky, so I could hear you talking about it, and you wouldn't even know. Hehehe._ She had a smirk on her face as she thought this.

Dante looks at Juni and notices her slightly evil grin. Juni soon sees Dante looking at her.

"What? I like to make faces, too! Who don't like to do that, sometimes? That was a good one, wasn't it?" she said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, it was." Dante replied.

As they walk into the office, Dante and Juni notice a brilliant red and gold bird sitting on a perch.

"It's so pretty!" Juni said.

"This is Fawkes." says Headmistress McGonagall. "He is a phoenix. Very loyal."

"Can I pet him?" Juni asked while still admiring the color of the phoenix's feathers.

"Well, what can I help you with, Hagrid?" McGonagall asks, then tells Juni, "If he allows you to."

Juni goes over to Fawkes, slowly reaches out her hand, and waits to see what he does.

Hagrid looks at McGonagall. "Well, I been noticing some strange things about Dante. I think it's time Penelope gave him a good look."

Fawkes tilts his head for a moment, then moves his head into Juni's hand, allowing her to pet him. She pets him gently. They all notice it as soon as Fawkes made the type of cooing noise that only a phoenix would make.

"Ah, I see you have made a new friend, Fawkes. He likes you, Juni." she said as Juni happily pets Fawkes, then looked back at Hagrid. "What do you mean by that, Hagrid?" she asked.

"The boy can sense things, not to mention the wand and the broomstick. And now, he can talk to snakes apparently..."

McGonagall was shocked for a brief moment, then composed herself. "You witnessed this, Hagrid?"

"No, I didn't. But, Juni did."

Juni was listening to their conversation. _I'm not telling without Dante saying it's okay! I promised him!_

Hagrid resumed after a moment. "The boy has no last name. We don't know what his heritage is... What if something comes up and threatens himself or the other students?"

"I fully understand, Hagrid." she replied, then looked at Juni. "Juni, did you witness this?" she asks.

Juni looks over at Dante, as if asking if it was okay to tell them. After she sees him nod slightly, she says, "I did.. BUT I have to say that if he didn't, I'd be dead by a huge snake biting me. He had to have sensed it because there's no way otherwise... When I had realized what the heck had happened, he was holding the snake by the head. After he talked to it, it went back to wherever it came from. He also talked with the garter snakes we gathered fangs from for potions. They were mad until he said what he did to them, then they left. If anything, I'd count that ability of his as a blessing because I'd be not here if he didn't have it."

"Yes, that is very true, Juni, my dear. However, there is more to this than meets the eye."

"Don't be trying to tell me that he's evil now because I know that's a liiiie!" Fawkes squawks as if agreeing with me.

"No, of course not, Miss Svendrir. We just want to make sure he is okay. It's for his sake and for everyone else's at Hogwarts. Alright then, Hagrid will escort you both to Matron Pomfrey's hospital wing."

Juni thinks, _So, we get to skip class? Yes!_

Her smile widens and she says, "Good day." as they head out. They turn and see the paintings moving about. "By the way.." she says. "If you ever miss lunch or dinner, head to the kitchen. Our wonderful house elves will be willing to whip up a meal for you."

"Thank you." Juni and Dante said.

"You're very welcome, Miss Svendrir and Mister Dante.

They head out and down to the hospital wing. Juni gets very tempted to play something on her ocarina.

Juni thinks, _Oh, screw it! I'm playing it!_ and starts playing a theme that Dante felt could've fit a member of a royal family.

It somehow sounded entrancing the way she played it. It seemed like time sped by. They soon arrived at the hospital wing.

"Hey, Penelope. Professor McGonagall wants you to give Dante here a full checkup." Hagrid said.

"Hmm, full checkup, you say?" Penelope replied.

"Yea, she wants to know whatever you find."

"Well, let's get started." Penelope said then asked Hagrid and Juni to leave.

Juni appeared confused. "Why can't I stay here?"

"Well, unless you want to see him get naked and all of that good stuff, you can stay behind the curtain." Penelope replied with a look in her eye that made Juni feel like the nurse was implying something.

 _Umm... He has to what?_ Juni thought as she tried to hide a red face. She soon noticed that Dante was looking at her with concern. She looked in the mirror behind her and saw that she had failed miserably to hide it. She immediately went behind the curtain.

Dante looked at a table full of sharp instruments and things, even a saw, as Penelope takes a latex glove and smacks it onto her hand. The sound of the glove made him nervous, even though he didn't show it.

Juni looks at a stain on the curtain. _I thought places like this would be cleaned and sanitized... Well, that's what I've heard, at least..._ Her thoughts then turned to Dante. _Umm, I hope she doesn't ask me to help her... Father would probably wanna kick some butt if I were to see Dante or any man without his clothing. I don't want father to try kicking Dante's butt because of the nurse..._ She thought then decided to play a random tune on her ocarina while waiting and to try to not be curious about what Dante'd look like without his clothes. She sees a random cat nearby as it meowed. _You're not helping, pretty kitty!_ She kept playing to keep her mind off it until the nurse pulled the curtain back. Juni saw Dante under the covers on the bed. He wasn't wearing his shirt. _I guess she isn't done with the tests? Wait... HE'S SHIRTLESS! OMG!_ she thought before the nurse got her attention.

"Are you feeling alright, Juni? Your face looks awfully red." Penelope said out of concern. After Juni nodded, Penelope said, "Well, if you insist. Anyway, the more private part of the checkup is complete. Now, I just need to check out his vitals and run tests."

"Okay." Juni said with a twinge of nervousness to her voice. She then sat in the chair beside the bed that Dante was in as Penelope proceeded to check his heartbeat with the stethoscope, along with his other vitals. "So.. what did she make you do?" Juni asked Dante in a whisper.

Dante whispered back, "I don't wanna talk about it..." _Juni seems really nervous... Wait, is it because of me? If so, then wh-_ he thought before it dawned on him. _She just saw me without a shirt... That must also be why she turned red in the face..._ He looked at her, a small smile forming upon his lips.

Juni looked at him and, after seeing him smiling at her, imagined a large sweat drop going down the back of her head, like it would've done in any anime where it'd apply to the situation. She offered him a chocolate bar without asking.

"Are you sure I can have it?" he asked.

"Yep! Besides, you need it more than I do. Go ahead, it's really good!" she replied.

Dante takes a bite of it. "This is great, Juni. Thanks."

Penelope does a full list of tests, including taking blood and using magical means, as well as muggle technology.

"You have to do all this just for blood tests?" Juni asked out of shock.

"No, these are just a part of the process, Juni." Penelope replied.

Just then, Hagrid comes back with a bag of food from a sandwich shop, including some cheese flavored potato chips.

Dante laughed. _Now, that's a surprise._

"Well now, how's it coming along?" Hagrid asked.

"Almost done, Hagrid. Just waiting for the results of the blood tests." Penelope replied.

"Oh, alright. Wait, done already?"

"Yea, it goes faster than it used to, mixing both magical and muggle means."

"Yes, I guess it does." Hagrid said then laughed.

{Few minutes later}

"Alright, so the tests are done." Penelope stated.

"What did you find out?" Hagrid says while munching on his food.

".. Do.. you have any tea you can spare, Hagrid? I need tea." Juni asked.

"Yea, I thought you'd need something to drink, by now. You can have it." he says and hands it to her.

"You sure?"

He pulls out a bottle of butterbeer from his coat pocket. "Yep."

Juni takes a sip of the tea. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Miss Svendrir."

Dante noticed that Juni's face was losing the redness she had earlier. He chose not to say anything. _I guess I just learned one way I can help her be at ease. Still.. if her face had turned red from seeing me, just now, would that indicate any interest from her? I can't help but wonder..._

"Yaaay for tea!" she said before drinking more. It was evident that she had already put away her ocarina, again.

Penelope sighed with relief that the full results were finally received. "Alright, I found you to be extremely healthy.. a bit too much, actually... I looked into that more, and what I found surprised me. It's still surprising, actually."

Juni looked around, appearing calm yet impatient.

Penelope resumed. "Your magic is weak during the day, correct?"

Juni's attention snapped back to the conversation. _His magic? How? It can't be.. unless... It's possible, but if so, he doesn't act like one..._

Dante looked at Penelope. "Umm, yeah. How did you know?"

Penelope nodded. "I see... And, you can also speak parseltongue, from what Hagrid told me?"

"Yes."

"Well.. I ran your blood against all of the wizards in the database and found that it matches at least one wizard..."

While sipping her tea, Juni looks to the left, then to the right. _COME ON.. GET TO IT! WHAT DID IT SAY?_ she thought as she looked between Penelope, Hagrid, and Dante.

Penelope looked at the papers in her hand. "These tests prove without a doubt that you are a vampire. However, I've never seen it suppressed like this before. I think that, one day, it will 'awaken', so to speak. Also..."

Juni soon got a grin on her face. _He's a vampire? Aw, sweet!_

Penelope's face turned more serious. "This is the most profound part, but your blood is a match. A paternal link was connected on the database... Dante." she said. Hagrid, Juni, and especially Dante were looking at her as she said, "Your father.. is Tom Marvolo Riddle..."

Juni is shocked to the point that she almost dropped her tea. _WHAT?! THERE'S GOTTA BE A PRANK TO THIS! NURSE LADY, PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS A REALLLLY BAD PRANK!_

"Say what?" says Hagrid., being as shocked as Juni.

"... Even if, somehow, that were true, it doesn't change the fact that Dante, unlike him, is of good nature." Juni said.

"Yea, Dante is a good boy. Of course he isn't like him. Anyone can tell that about him, even if they don't know who his father is." Penelope said.

Dante got confused. _I don't understand... Tom Marvolo Riddle?_ "Who's that?"

Juni looked at him. "Sorry, Dante. I'd say, but, unlike my parents, I can't stand long enough to speak or hear either alias of his..literally. I'm glad I'm sitting down..."

Hagrid sighed. "Well, Dante, he's... That's Lord Voldemort's real name. He's also known as 'The Dark Lord'."

Dante nodded. "Oh, okay." he said. _Wait..._ "WHAT?! No, no, it must be a mistake!"

Juni looked at Hagrid and Penelope, then back at Dante. It didn't look like they were kidding. _I don't see how he could be that monster's child. This has gotta be a realllly bad prank..._ "Please tell us you're making a really bad joke."

Penelope's face didn't look any less serious. "Dante, I'm sorry, hun... But, he's your father..."

"No, no, no! It has to be a bad prank, a lie or something!" Juni said.

"Well... It's best if we keep this to ourselves. He's a vampire, and the son of Voldemort. If word got around, it wouldn't be too pretty." Hagrid said after composing himself and clearing his throat.

Dante was silent as he stared ahead of him in quiet contemplation. After a moment, he said, "It's okay, Juni. It's who I am. It doesn't mean I have to be like him."

"No, your bloodline never determines who you are. It's you and your heart that determines your identity." she said in response.

"I guess I just have to accept it." he said then looked at Penelope. "Who was my mother?"

During this time, Shaiya's quietly listening to the conversation from outside the room.

"Strangely, the database didn't make any maternal link. It's rather strange on the vampire part, though." Penelope answered after a moment.

Juni thinks to herself, _Umm, isn't it obvious, lady? His mother has to be a vampire, or else it'd be next to impossible... I bet Hagrid could figure that out before you..._

The nurse shook her head. "I've honestly never seen anything like this. Why haven't your powers activated? You don't need to feed yet. However, once it becomes active, things will change."

"How?" Dante asked as Juni gave Penelope a hard look while sipping on her tea.

"Well, you'll be stronger in general. You will heal much faster than a human. You'll need to feed regularly, but no worries. We keep a supply at school. Surprisingly, there are more vampires here than there used to be." the nurse replied. As Juni kept staring her down, the nurse continued. "Vampires are weaker during the day, but a little stronger at night. I'm not sure how your case will be though. I've never seen anything like this. It'd appear to be as if something sealed his powers along time ago. Maybe even before birth."

Juni sighed. "Well, I know one thing: Dante's not gonna be like the monster that'll remain nameless to me. And, if ANY of you say otherwise, I'm not gonna be as happy as a singing fish!"

Dante wanted to laugh, but he was still trying to figure out how to handle the whole revelation. "You think my dad did that? Or even my mom?"

"It's possible." Penelope says. "Alright, well I'm done here. I don't have anymore info to give. Take this folder and give it to the headmistress. Alright, if that's all, then hurry now. I have other work to attend to, and thanks for coming by. You two are always welcome here. By the way, I'd recommend that Dante spend time with Professor Dragoneye. He's a vampire, as well, and he'll help you to cope with it. He might be a little rough around the edges, but he's a good man." she said with a smile.

Dante and Hagrid thanked her and walked out into the hall after Dante put his shirt back on and Juni walked out into the hall. Juni somehow still had some tea left. Dante noticed that the tea must've been affecting her, though he didn't know the ways that it was. The three of them made their way to the headmistress's office, with Shaiya secretly following them.

"So that's all of it..." says Hagrid.

As they're walking through the series of halls and stairwells, Juni looked at Dante. "Dante.. are you really gonna.. HIC.. deal with that guy? He scares the crudmonkeys outta me... HIC!"

Dante looked at her, slightly confused, yet more concerned. "Yeah, I have to... One day, I will awaken as a full vampire and will need to learn how to control myself."

Juni had a serious yet pouty look on her face. "Well, he better not.. HIC.. mess with my friend or else.. HIC.. he'll have to answer to me!" she said then laughed a moment later after imagining how scared Kron would be of her if that had to happen.

Hagrid looked at Juni, his eyebrows furrowing out of worry. "You okay, Juni?" he asked, then looked at the bottle in his hand and the cup in her hand to make sure he didn't accidentally give her butterbeer.

"I'm fine...HIC! Just reallllly.. HIC.. swell!" she replies, then sips more of the tea. Afterwards, she looks at the cup with a questioning look.

 _I hope they didn't give Hagrid tea with alcohol in it..._ Dante thought. "Someone can't hold their tea..."

Hagrid laughed. "Well, at least she's happy."

Juni hugs Dante. "I'm reallly glad we're.. HIC.. friends, Dante... HIC! You wanna see my place here, sometime? ..HIC!"

Dante nodded. "I'd like that."

Juni looked at Hagrid, after looking at her cup, once again. "Heyyy, what kinda tea is this? Why does it smell funny? Is it a Long Island?"

Dante looked back at Hagrid. "I was smelling something strange, Hagrid." he said then grabbed Juni's tea. He smelled it. "Umm, Hagrid? I think she's right. It does smell like it has alcohol in it..." he said then handed it to Hagrid for him to see for himself.

Juni looked at them. "Please.. HIC.. hold onto that... I'm going that.. HIC.. way..." she said before passing out.

Dante caught her before she could land on the floor. Dante looked at the cup in Hagrid's hand with a frustrated look in his eyes before walking ahead.

Hagrid followed, thinking, _Well, I guess I'll be more careful, next time... Just hope McGonagall doesn't get angry with me for the mistake of those at the sandwich shop. She can be a scary woman, at times, after all..._

They later arrived at Headmistress McGonagall's office. McGonagall gives Juni something. It didn't take long before Juni woke up sobered.

Juni shook her head. "What the heck happened? Wait... Hey, how'd I get here? Did.. did I fly while I was out?" she said out of shock.

"Morning, dear." McGonagall says then smiles.

"Morning? Is it morning?" Juni said with a worried look on her face.

"I guess Hagrid should've made sure that shop hadn't messed up his order. But, you should be more careful, Miss Svendrir. We wouldn't want anything to happen that could've been prevented. But, you weren't out very long, so don't worry." McGonagall replied, then looked between them. You two will have to meet up with Professor Kron after your second transfiguration class today. Just make sure you two eat dinner first."

Juni felt her stomach starting to growl. "I'll agree to that... I could use a bite to eat, to be honest..."

"Well, the second half of today's transfiguration class will start in a little while. For now, head to the kitchen. I must contact some people regarding certain school matters. Have a good rest of your day. In the meantime, Hagrid and I will have a nice little chat."

Hagrid's eyes widened slightly after she said that. _I hope I'm not about to get in trouble for that. I meant no disrespect and I certainly meant no harm._

Dante and Juni left McGonagall's office and headed toward the kitchen.

{A short while later; near the Great Hall}

"Umm, Dante?" Juni said after a few minutes.

Dante looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry you saw me like that... It wasn't proper of me. If I had known, I wouldn't have had so much

as a sip of the tea... I feel so ashamed, right now."

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Juni. After all, you're not the only one who would've been like that while under the influence. I know I shouldn't ask, but... You turned red after looking at me while I was on the bed in the hospital wing. Why did you?"

Juni looked ahead, her face turning red again. "Umm... Well... It's just... Back home, it's part of our customs... A man wasn't to be in a woman's presence without being fully dressed, shirt included. It's believed that it's to keep a woman's mind pure enough for her to know who she.. wanted to choose... Now, there are a few exceptions where the custom wasn't required to be observed. However, that's a small few... I've heard that a woman of royal, or even noble, birth had the man chosen for her out of a group that was gathered, based on her interests. Now, just because the customs we have are observed at least almost religiously, that doesn't mean that women have more power. It's equal in some aspects, but is different in others, given the situation. Traditionally, my people only marry within our own race, but I believe that love doesn't always exist for everyone from within their own races. Now, I believe evil beings should stay to their own kind, but other than that.. well, you know what I mean..."

 _I just violated a custom of her people? Oh, no..._ Dante thought, then put a hand on Juni's shoulder while bowing his head as part of his apology. "I'm sorry, Juni!"

Juni was shocked yet confused by his response. "What do you mean? Sorry for what?"

Dante looked at her. "I violated one of your customs. I didn't know... Please forgive me..."

Juni gave a small smile. "You shouldn't be sorry for what you didn't know, Dante. If anything, I should apologize for not telling you about it. However, if it makes you feel any better, I can teach you what I can, so you wouldn't appear rude or ignorant, just in case you ever had to meet one of my people."

Dante gave a small sigh of relief. "I'd like that, Juni. Thank you." _She's not mad at me... I'm glad..._

Juni nodded with a smile, then ran down the hallway. "Come on, Dante! Race ya!" she said to where he could hear then laughed.

Dante said nothing, but smiled and ran after her. _She's a nice person to be around... I know nobody's perfect, but.. well, if I was ever forced to be alone with someone, I'd be glad if it was her. And, of that, I'm truly certain.. even though I've no idea why..._

As they raced down the hall, they laughed as one passed the other, not caring about which of them was to win. They could've looked childish to some, but in that moment, neither of them could've cared less.

 _I don't care what happens. As long as we're at least friends, I'll never need to know the future... I won't.. as long as you're a part of it._ They both thought at the same time.

{Meanwhile; at the opening of one of the connecting hallways}

Nicholai looked at them from behind the wall as they raced toward the great hall, his eyes giving a look that suggested he was trying to figure something out. _They don't look as they appear. Who and what are they? Also.. that girl... I sense something more from her.. something I can't quite begin to guess... Judging from her appearance, I'd be safe to say that she could easily be a noble, and yet.. she could also easily be a royal... I don't know if it's part of her power, but..I feel like there's a reason I'd need her... However, that guy.. Dante... I can't explain how, but.. I feel like he'll become an increasingly annoying thorn in my side, soon enough._

Behind him, Professor Kron approached. "I don't know why you're out here, but you should be in class. Just because you were supposed to go to Durmstrang doesn't mean you'll be treated differently from the rest of the students. Now.. get back to class, Mr. Petrovich, unless you'd rather be sent to the headmistress's office." he said with a very stern tone to his voice. After Nicholai started making his way back to class, Kron gave a silent sigh. _I can't help but feel like that boy is going to be trouble. However, it's the type of trouble that I can't figure out, just yet... It might be too early to say that for certain, but I must report this to Headmistress McGonagall. She'll know how to handle it..._ he thought before making his way to McGonagall.


End file.
